Unfinished Business
by BranwenOSV
Summary: (Volume 5 spoilers) With the attack on Haven successfully thwarted, things are looking up for Team RWBY and company. However, before they set off to Atlas, there's still plenty of loose ends they need to wrap up in Mistral.
1. Unfinished Business

**A/N: So as noted in the summary, this story takes place right after the events of Volume 5. If you haven't seen the entire volume yet, I suggest watching that before you read on. This story is pretty much a headcanon/wish fulfillment of what I'd like to think happens post Volume 5.**

* * *

It had been a long day for everyone at Haven Academy. After finding out Leo had betrayed Ozpin and sided with Salem, the huntsmen did battle with Salem's army, along with Raven and her partner Vernal. In the end, Cinder failed to obtain the relic connected to the Spring Maiden, forcing her allies to flee. Meanwhile, Blake and the Faunus of Menagerie successfully stopped Adam's attempt to blow up Haven Academy, causing him to run away as well. Whereas Beacon had fallen, Haven stood tall, and at long last, Ruby was finally reunited with her team.

That night, everyone was at the lodge Qrow and Team RNJR were staying at, where Kali decided to cook a big dinner to celebrate tonight's victory. Worn out from the fighting and switching between himself and Ozpin, Oscar was resting in one of the bedrooms. Kali was cooking with assistance from Ren, while Qrow was doing a final sweep of Haven Academy with the Mistral Police to make sure the threat was over and that everyone was accounted for. Once everything was clear, Qrow returned to the lodge, with everyone waiting in the dining room for their big celebration feast. RWBY and JNR sat on one side of the table while Qrow and Blake's family and friends sat on the other.

"What's the word, Uncle Qrow?" asked Ruby.

"Looks like Haven Academy is perfectly safe," said Qrow. "Vernal's body was recovered from the Spring vault and Cinder is nowhere to be found."

"Woo hoo!" shouted Ruby, standing up with arms raised high. "We saved Haven Academy! Everything's coming up for the good guys!"

"Yeah, that's the good news."

"Oh no," said Ruby, slinking back down in her chair. "What's the bad news?"

"I just found Leo in his office...or rather, what's left of him."

"So Haven Academy has no headmaster? What's going to happen?"

"I don't know," said Qrow, taking a seat at the table and unscrewing his flask. "Until Ozpin comes back, we'll have to think of something ourselves. But hey, I think you girls should be proud. We have the Spring relic, our enemies have retreated, and thanks to our Faunus friends over here, Haven is still in one piece. I say that calls for a toast!"

Everyone stood up with their glass - and flask - in hand.

"To saving Haven Academy!"

"Here here!" said Ruby as everyone was clanging glasses with their nearby friends. Qrow chugged down the whiskey in his flask until he almost ran out.

"Looks like I'm gonna need a refill," said Qrow, looking into his flask to find how much he had left.

"I take it from the smell you're a whiskey man?" asked Ghira.

"Good call. What's your poison?"

"Mistralian Sake. Goes great with the fresh fish we catch in Menagerie."

"Really? Well I'm gonna have to try that before we head to Atlas, then."

"You're welcome anytime, my friend," said Ghira, patting Qrow on the back.

"Dinner is now being served!" announced Kali.

Kali brought out a huge plate of seafood and plopped it on the middle of the table, consisting of at least six different kinds of fried entrees, surrounded by two circles of sushi and bowls of soy sauce. Ren then brought out several plates consisting of shrimp, raw squid, mussels, clams, and a variety of dipping sauces. Everyone around the table were shocked to see how much Kali was able to make in such a short amount of time; Blake had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from drooling on sight.

"I think you may have gone a bit overboard, Kali," said Ghira.

"Nonsense!" said Kali. "I know how big of an appetite a huntsman can have! After all the fighting these kids went through, they must be practically starving!"

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Belladonna," said Ruby, bowing her head.

"So let's dig in already!" said Sun, not wasting any time trying to grab whatever was close by. All the kids were quickly trying to fill up as much of their plate as they could. Qrow and Ghira were surprised to see the kids turn the buffet into a free-for-all, while Kali simply smiled at all the children appreciating her cooking as she took her seat.

After everyone settled down with their starting meal of choice, the huntsmen went into conversation about the recent events and of things to come. After Blake's friends explained everything they and Team RNJR had gone through to reach Haven, Blake was telling them about her time in Menagerie, and the battle the Belladonnas had with the White Fang two weeks prior.

"With Ilia using the darkness as camouflage," said Blake, "I needed to create a different light source."

"So she set the freaking house on fire!" exclaimed Sun.

"No way!" said Yang, banging the table with her hand. "Talk about taking extremes!"

"You seriously thought setting the house on fire was a good idea?" asked Weiss.

"Look who's talking, miss forest-fire!" replied Ruby, poking Weiss in the cheek.

"THAT only happened because YOU were acting like a dunce!" said Weiss, turning around and pinching Ruby's cheek hard, not appreciating the blame Ruby was trying to place on her.

"Well YOU were acting like a big stupid jerk, trying to do everything by yourself!" replied Ruby, removing Weiss' death grip from herself.

"Because YOU were unreliable, miss exploded-on-the-first-day-of-school!" yelled Weiss, getting into Ruby's face. The two growled angrily at each other for a few seconds before snorting and bursting out laughing.

"Those were some good times, best friend!" said Ruby.

"They sure were!" said Weiss. "And for the record, you're still not my best friend."

"Whatever you say, bestie!"

"Anyway," said Blake, "in the end, Ilia switched sides and together we stopped the White Fang from tearing us apart."

"I'm glad things worked out for you, partner," said Yang, patting Blake on the shoulder with her robot arm. Seeing that arm suddenly caused a sense of dread in Blake. Not wanting to ruin the dinner party, Blake suppressed her urge to start crying and simply nodded to Yang.

"Thanks," said Blake, turning her attention back to her food to hopefully cut the conversation off quickly. Yang's attention soon turned to the chameleon Faunus sitting across the other side of the table. Ilia was worried with how she was going to get along with Blake's teammates at Beacon, but so far, they all treated Ilia like she was part of their social circle.

"So Ilia," said Yang, "Blake tells us you were a part of the White Fang as well. What finally caused you to make the jump?"

"The same reason as Blake, I guess," said Ilia. "I realize now violence isn't going to make things right between humans and Faunus."

"Too bad that Adam jerk ran off," said Sun. "That was our best chance to finally get that son of a Grimm!"

"Too bad indeed," said Yang. Blake looked down and noticed Yang's prosthetic arm start to slightly shake before Yang grabbed her glass of water to cool herself off. Hearing the children talk about the White Fang, Ghira decided to chime in.

"It's not so much Adam I blame for all this," said Ghira. "Sienna Khan shares the burden for starting this kind of behavior with the White Fang. Sadly, it's too late for Sienna to see the error of her ways."

"Who's Sienna Khan?" asked Ruby.

"She was the one who took over the White Fang after my father," explained Blake. "But based on the intel we got on Adam, he killed her to take over the White Fang himself."

"So, let me get this straight," said Sun. "The guy who wants to kill all humans and further Faunus rights thought killing a well-known Faunus was a good idea? Seriously, what do people see in this loser?"

"He was a man of action," said Ilia. "He helped us get the revenge we've been craving for so long. As horrible as his methods became...all we cared about is that it worked."

"Thankfully with him in hiding," said Ghira, "we can expose the truth on Sienna. Adam's days are numbered."

"And I'll do whatever it takes to help you!" said Ilia, placing her hands together and bowing to show how much she wanted to make up for the awful atrocities she helped the White Fang commit.

"Well Ilia," said Sun, "welcome to the good side! You've come a long way from stabbing me in the chest."

"To be fair," said Weiss, "knowing you Sun, you were probably asking for it."

"Weiss!" said Blake, taking offense at Weiss' attempt at a joke. "That isn't funny!"

"Oh," said Sun, "we doing dark humor now, miss spear-in-the-hips?"

"Sun! That was uncalled for!"

"She started it!" whined Sun.

"Did not!" replied Weiss.

"Get a room, you two!" said Yang.

"Stay out of this!" yelled Sun and Weiss before going back to arguing with each other. While the two were arguing, Ilia leaned over to whisper to Blake.

"Are your friends always like this?" asked Ilia. Blake wanted to slip under the table and avoid talking the rest of the night.

"Now now, children!" said Kali. "Settle down or you won't get dessert!"

Sun and Weiss sat down and turned away from each other, refusing to speak another word. When Weiss stood up, Kali noticed the bloodstain and hole in Weiss' dress.

"Weiss my dear, your dress is ruined! I hope those aren't the only clothes you have!"

"It was all I had left when I got here," said Weiss. "I would love to shop for more, but my funds are well...non-existent at the moment."

"Well, we're going to have to fix that! I say that tomorrow, you and I go shopping in the city. Ilia, why don't you come too? A girl like you shouldn't just wear their battle outfit all the time."

"You don't have to do that for me, Mrs. Belladonna," said Ilia, feeling somewhat ashamed. "I mean, you shouldn't have to after I've-"

"Nonsense, my dear!" Kali placed her hand over Ilia's and gripped it gently. "What you've done before is in the past. You're part of our family now, and I'm going to get you the best outfit I can find!"

"Th...thank you," said Ilia. Ilia didn't know what else to say other than that. She couldn't believe of all the words Kali could have used to describe Ilia, she decided on "family." It was enough to nearly cause Ilia to burst out crying.

"I'm very grateful for the offer, Mrs. Belladonna," said Weiss, bowing in gratitude.

"Please girls, just call me Kali," said Kali. "Tomorrow will be fun! The three of us spending the day in the city! Would anyone like to come?"

"I have to work on my bike," said Yang. "Poor girl needs a tune up."

"I'll remain here in case something comes up," said Blake.

"Shopping isn't my thing," said Qrow. "Besides, I have to find a new headmaster."

"It's best I stay as well," said Ghira.

"How about you, Ruby?" asked Kali. "Surely you can use some new clothes!"

"Sorry," said Ruby, "but I've already got plans. We're pretty low on funds, so I was thinking of taking up some huntress missions to get us back on our feet."

"Not by yourself, I hope!" said Yang. The last thing Yang wanted was to see her sister run off to fight Grimm on her own again.

"If it's money you need," said Kali, "our family has more than enough to help provide!"

"I'll be fine," said Ruby. "Besides, I need to get some hunting in to make sure I'm not getting rusty."

"If you insist," said Kali, somewhat disappointed Ruby didn't want to come. Kali then turned to Jaune, Nora, and Ren, who were sitting at the end of the table and were surprisingly quiet for most of the night. "Well, how about you three?"

"I'd love to!" said Nora.

"Ahem," said Ren, leaning his head towards Jaune to remind Nora of what they already discussed before dinner.

"Oh, but we've already got plans of our own."

"Like what?" asked Ruby. The three teammates of the former Team RNJR stared at their plates, as if they weren't comfortable with wanting to talk about it. Not wanting everyone to keep staring at them, Jaune decided to speak up.

"We just...need to go somewhere," said Jaune. "By ourselves."

"Do you need a ride of any kind?" asked Kali.

"We'll be fine on our own, thank you."

Ruby was getting worried. Jaune wasn't usually so anti-social around other people, so whatever was on his mind had to be something important, but Ruby didn't understand why Jaune and the others decided they needed to keep this important task to themselves.

"Well," said Kali, "I think it's time we cleaned off this table for dessert!"

Kali and the other grown-ups gathered the dirty dishes into the kitchen to wash them. Everyone else broke off into small talk sans Jaune, who stayed in his chair and looked like he had a lot going on in his mind. As much as Weiss didn't talk to Jaune much, she hated seeing him look more depressed than usual. As the others were having small talk, Weiss decided to go up to Jaune and talk to him privately, hoping to cheer him up to at least socialize with the others tonight.

"Jaune?" said Weiss. "Before I forget, I want to thank you for saving my life. You've really come a long way since your days at Beacon."

"You're welcome," said Jaune, saying it as if he wanted Weiss to go away. Even with Weiss trying to compliment him, he didn't even bother to turn and face Weiss.

"Look, I know I haven't always been the kindest to you, but if you need help with whatever it is you're doing...I'm willing to help."

"I know, but...it's something I have to do alone."

"Well...if you insist."

Weiss didn't want to start an argument and ruin tonight's festivities, so if Jaune decided he was going to mope in the corner, she was fine letting him be. Ruby noticed Weiss' failed attempt and decided to find out what happened.

"What's wrong with Jaune?" asked Ruby.

"I'm not sure," said Weiss, "but whatever it is, it's really getting him down. I even tried to thank him for saving me and he's still acting depressed. Whatever he's planning on doing, he says he needs to do it alone. You have any idea what it might be about?"

"I don't know," said Ruby. "I mean, if it was really that important, I would think he'd want us to know, right?"

"Try to think harder. Maybe it has something to do with what you've been through the past eight months?"

Ruby reflected on the eight months since she left Patch Island and traveled with Team RNJR to the continent of Anima. All the villages they visited, all the Grimm they had to take down, and all the devastation they witnessed. The days they spent walking in what felt like circles in the forests, the nights they spent looking up at the moon and thinking about their alumni at Beacon...

And then it hit her. Ruby couldn't believe she missed something so obvious. That night she thought she heard _her_ voice again; the reason Ruby wanted to head to Mistral; the reason Jaune joined Ruby in the first place.

"It might have to do with... _her_ ," said Ruby, placing an emphasis on that last word so Weiss knew whom she was talking about.

"Dessert is here!" said Kali. "Eight varieties of Mistralian Mochi!"

Kali placed down plates of Mochi as everyone took their preferred flavor, all while Jaune continued to sit alone, reflecting on where he needed to go to hopefully clear his conscience.

Just as they thought their days in Mistral were over, everyone realized there was lots of unfinished business that needed to be settled. Starting tomorrow, everyone had their own goals they needed to complete before the group can truly set off for Atlas.


	2. A Day in the City

_Before Last Night's Dinner_

As everyone was settling into the lodge and preparing for the big feast, Blake's teammates wanted to get to know Ilia. Ilia was reluctant to talk to the team at first; these three were supposedly Blake's best friends, and who knows how they would react knowing Ilia was a former White Fang soldier who attempted to assassinate Blake and her family. Then again, if Sun was so easily forgiving of Ilia, maybe these three would be too. Blake's teammates stood in front of Ilia; the red-hooded one and the tall blonde one seemed to have the same peppy attitude, but there was something about the one in the white dress that made Ilia uncomfortable, almost as if Ilia knew she wasn't going to like her from the start.

"I'm Ruby!" greeted Ruby. "Ruby Rose! Leader of Team RWBY and Team RNJR!"

"Yang Xiao Long," said Yang. "I'd give you a hand, but I might need it back later."

"That joke was lame, Yang."

"Well, I am missing an arm after all."

Ruby snickered at Yang's comeback. It was nice to know Yang didn't lose her sense of humor - despite how awful it was to some.

"Nice to meet you," said Ilia, before turning her attention to Weiss. "And you are?"

"Weiss Schnee," said Weiss firmly. "A pleasure to meet you."

"I'm sorry, did you say your name was...Schnee?"

It was at that moment everyone else in the room realized the awkward situation that suddenly occurred. For a lot of Faunus, especially those serving in the White Fang, the Schnee family were their biggest enemies. The Schnee Dust Company caused a lot of Faunus to suffer, such as those who lost their loved ones in mining accidents. Blake noticed Ilia's skin turning red, indicating she was getting enraged. Blake quickly took Ilia aside before she did anything.

"Ilia, calm down!" said Blake. "Yes, she is part of _that_ family, but she's nothing like her father!"

"How can you be sure of that?" said Ilia. "How can you trust her knowing what her family and that company have done?"

"I'll admit she wasn't likable at first, but she's changed. Besides, if we couldn't trust her, would she be fighting alongside us?"

Blake did make a good point. Ilia turned to face Weiss again and noticed the blood stain Weiss had on her dress. Considering how red it still looked, it had to be a fresh one she suffered just before Blake and her allies arrived to help. When Ilia heard of the Schnee children, she assumed they were the kind to stay in Atlas in the comforts of their manor, ignoring the plight the rest of the world was suffering like the spoiled privileged children they were. Yet here was the supposed heiress to the company standing before her with a serious battle wound to her hip, which was sure to result in a scar, and upon closer inspection, Ilia noticed the scar over Weiss' left eye. Those were the kind of scars you could only get from stepping up to fight, not staying in the safety of your room.

"I guess not," said Ilia. "I'll give her a chance, but _only_ because I trust your judgement."

Ilia took a deep breath, her skin turning back to a neutral color. She walked up to Weiss and slowly extended her hand out.

"Any friend of Blake's is a friend of mine," said Ilia. Weiss reached out and shook Ilia's hand.

"Likewise," replied Weiss.

#

The next day, Kali took Weiss and Ilia to the main city inside the Mistral Kingdom, exploring the marketplace located near the top of the mountains. The way the Mistral Kingdom's classes were set apart, having the city in a mountain location was almost too perfect: The higher you were on the mountain, the more wealth and power you had, and the lower you were, the worse off you were. With this caste system in place, it was no surprise to those that knew of Mistral's ways why there was tension between the different classes of people.

Despite the political criticism against Mistral, the kingdom did have a unique and beautiful culture that many people from outside kingdoms adored. As Kali was walking through the streets, she couldn't help but swoon at everything in sight.

"I just love Mistral's culture," said Kali. "The clothes, the food, those cute little trees...it's all so enriching, isn't it?"

"I guess," said Ilia. She wasn't keen about Mistral's culture or its people. Like Atlas, Mistral had a reputation for looking down on the Faunus. All the kingdoms had their share of prejudice, but Mistral and Atlas were the worst offenders. As they were exploring the marketplace, Ilia couldn't help but look around to see who was giving her a suspicious glance.

"Here we are!" said Kali, stopping in front of a mountain side department store. "Let's get some dresses!"

In Mistral, the most popular style of dress was the kimono. Kali looked like she was in heaven browsing through the various types of kimonos, while Ilia just crossed her arms, not seeing what was so great about what she saw as glorified robes.

"These kimonos are so gorgeous!" said Kali, picking up a sleeve and rubbing against her face. "And the material is so refined!"

"I always did want to try one at least once," said Weiss, looking over the store's selection. "Even if they aren't practical to wear in combat."

"As if what you're wearing now is any different?" remarked Ilia.

"It's a combat skirt," replied Weiss. Ilia was dumbfounded by such a ridiculous justification, but was not going to waste time arguing over petty fashion sense.

"Could we look at some of the normal clothes?"

"All in due time, Ilia!" said Kali. "In the meantime, look at this!"

Kali grabbed Ilia's hand and took her over to one of the mannequins that was wearing a purple kimono with a pink carnation pattern and a magenta sash across the waist.

"I think purple is certainly your color," said Kali. While Kali was fixated on the look, Ilia's attention was on the price tag attached.

"But these prices!" said Ilia. "How could-"

"Don't worry about the price. You just worry whether it fits your tastes."

"I...guess it looks nice."

"Then time to try it on and find out!"

Before Ilia could say another word, Kali grabbed a dress and took Ilia into the dressing room, while Weiss picked out a kimono with similar colors to her current dress and a snow mountain image imbued on the back. Ilia felt ridiculous having to put on a dress she knew she was going to hate; growing up with parents who saved money any way they can for Ilia to join Atlas Academy, she was used to wearing thrift store goods. They weren't fancy in any sense, but they were practical and served their purpose. Ilia thought the money just for the dress alone could buy an entirely new wardrobe at a local used shop, but she didn't want to argue with Kali about it, so she decided to play along for now.

"I'm finished," said Ilia, stepping out of the dressing room in her kimono.

"You look amazing!" gushed Kali. Ilia looked at all the angles of herself with nearby mirrors and blushed with how pretty she looked.

"I...I really do, don't I?" said Ilia.

"That settles it! Weiss, how about you?"

"I think this was meant to be mine," said Weiss, stepping out and showing off her kimono outfit.

"You know what I think would go great with that? A parasol! What do you think?"

"No thanks!" said Weiss quickly.

"Huh? Is something wrong?"

"Well, parasols just remind me of this one girl who...never mind, it's a long story."

Once the three had their dresses and accessories chosen, Kali headed to the register to make the purchase. The merchant running the store was a middle-aged man wearing a high-end black kimono jacket.

"Quite the selection there, ma'am," said the merchant. "Are you visiting from another kingdom?"

"Yes, we are," said Kali. "I must say you have some fantastic quality clothing."

"I stock only the best," said the merchant as he was punching the numbers into his register. "Your total comes to 67,000 Lien."

"67,000?" said Kali, a bit taken aback by the large number. "Oh my. I guess I'm spending more than I realized."

While the purchase was pricy, it wasn't anything Kali couldn't afford anyway. She took out her credit card to hand over to the merchant when her wrist was suddenly grabbed by Ilia.

"Because you are!" said Ilia.

"Ilia!" said Kali. "What are you doing?"

"Is there a problem?" asked the merchant.

"I counted the numbers on those tags," said Ilia. "Their total barely goes over 50,000!"

Weiss grabbed one of the dresses' price tags and did quick math in her head. Ilia was in fact telling the truth.

"She's right," said Weiss. "What's the meaning of this?"

"I'm just adding the sales tax!" said the merchant.

"That still wouldn't add up even close to what you said."

"Well, there's also...the Faunus tax."

"Excuse me?" said Kali. "Are you trying to extort us?"

His plan being exposed, the merchant quickly switched to a viler tone of voice towards his Faunus customer.

"It's not extortion," said the merchant. "It's called paying your fair share."

"There's nothing fair about gouging your customers!" replied Kali. "I'm going to have you reported!"

"And you think people around here will believe you? No one is going to take a dirty Faunus for their word." The merchant chuckled as he placed his hand on Kali's card. "Now, I suggest you pay up, or I'll have you reported for thievery."

Ilia had promised Blake to never use violence again, but she was so enraged by this monster's actions, she didn't see any other choice. Ilia was about to reach behind her and grab her weapon when suddenly a glyph formed around the man's wrist, causing his arm to go numb.

"What the hell?" yelled the merchant.

"I'd think twice before making that decision!" said Weiss, using her semblance on the merchant. The merchant used his free arm to reach under the desk, but Weiss swiftly made another glyph to paralyze his other arm before he can activate the alarm.

"Now you listen to me, tough guy!" said Weiss, getting into his face. "If you call the police or whomever to come get us, trust me, you're going to have a fight on your hands, and I'm not sure your store is going to remain standing. So, I suggest you redo the math and charge what you're supposed to, or you can find out what a highly trained huntress can do."

"Okay okay!" said the merchant, knowing better than to test his luck against a huntress. "Forget the tax! I charge normal price!"

"On second thought, I don't like these outfits. Do you, Kali?"

"Suddenly, I've lost my taste!" said Kali, taking her card back and leaving the store. Weiss waited until Kali and Ilia were outside before letting the merchant go.

"Maybe next time you should learn the meaning of customer service," said Weiss.

As bad as that experience was, Kali was still determined to get a kimono of some kind, and decided to seek out another merchant in the marketplace. While they were searching, Ilia walked alongside Weiss to talk about Weiss' actions.

"Thank you for standing up for us back there," said Ilia. "I was just a second away from lunging at him."

"I was simply doing what anyone would," said Weiss.

"You say anyone, but those numbers are quite low, so I appreciate you sticking your neck out like that."

"Don't thank me too much. Truth be told, it wasn't that long ago I would have been no better than him."

"We're in luck!" said Kali. "There's another kimono shop!"

Kali grabbed the other two and ran over to the booth that had dresses hanging off a coat rack and a table with cheaper ones folded up. The selection was barely even one-tenth of the department store and the fabric wasn't as silky smooth, but the owner was a young woman who appeared to be friendly enough.

"You have some nice dresses here," said Kali.

"Thank you!" said the woman. "I don't get many customers. Most of them go over to the big place two streets down. I can't tell you what a nightmare it is to compete against them."

"Their selection may be greater, but their service is terrible. Would you believe the owner tried to gouge us?"

"That's horrible! I hope he gets what's coming to him!"

"How many merchants here are prejudice against Faunus exactly?" asked Ilia.

"Truth be told, a lot of folks don't like Faunus around here. You never know when one of them can turn out to be those White Fang mongrels."

While this merchant wasn't as hostile as the previous one, Ilia was still irked by the woman's unnecessary "mongrel" comment, and was suspicious about this woman's racial bias.

"You have something against Faunus as well?" asked Ilia.

"I'm sorry?" asked the woman.

"I'm asking if you have a prejudice with Faunus yourself."

The woman went silent and was shifting her eyes around, not wanting to express her inner thoughts. Before Ilia can pry further, Kali picked out their new kimonos and was ready to purchase.

"Your total comes to 30,000," said the woman.

"As it should be," said Kali, making sure to check the prices just in case. She pulled out her credit card, only for the shop owner to look embarrassed.

"Oh, um, I should have mentioned...I can only take cash. Can't afford a credit system; guess that's another reason people don't shop here."

"Not a problem," said Kali, reaching into her pocketbook and pulling out several high-value Lien cards. "In fact, here's 35,000. You can keep the change." The merchant's eyes lit up at seeing Kali being so generous.

"Oh my God! Thank you so much!" The merchant opened her nearly empty register and deposited the Lien. "Have a wonderful day!"

"You too!" said Kali. As the three of them left, Ilia was still upset she didn't get a straight answer.

#

The three of them continued shopping around for more clothes, including getting surprise gifts for everyone back at the lodge. With the sun about to set, a majority of the merchants in the marketplace were closing and heading home.

"Looks like the marketplace is closing," said Weiss. "Time to go home I suppose."

"Not on an empty stomach!" said Kali. "Dinner's on me tonight!"

Ilia would have preferred a simple dinner that didn't put a dent in Kali's wallet, but knowing Kali, it was pointless to argue with her. Kali looked around and saw a bistro that also had entertainment.

"Ooooh!" said Kali. "This one has karaoke! I've always wanted to try that! Let's go!"

Once they entered the bistro, Ilia already felt uncomfortable in this kind of atmosphere. She never ate out at a restaurant in her life, and being in one that looked high class made her want to run out.

"Can I help you?" asked the young man seated in the front.

"Table for three, please!" said Kali.

"I'm sorry ma'am, we only take reservations in advance."

"Maybe you can make this one exception?" Kali leaned over and noticed the place seemingly only half full. "I mean, it doesn't look like you have a full house."

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules. You'll have to-"

"Azure!" yelled an older man walking in from the back. "A word!"

The young man quickly ran up to the man who had to be his boss and was trying to speak to him privately. Unfortunately for them, Faunus had a heightened sense of hearing, so Ilia could hear exactly what they were saying.

"What the hell are you doing turning away people?" said the older man, clearly not happy with his employee's actions. "Are you trying to get us even deeper in debt?"

"But dad, they're Fau-"

"Paying customers! I don't care who or what they are, as long as we get the money. Because it's either take them in, or go back to the slums! Now show them to a table!"

"Of course, father." Azure walked up to the three and bowed. "My apologies. Right this way please."

As the boy took them to a table, Ilia was furious that they came across yet another human who detested Faunus. Once the boy took them to a table and went back to the front, Ilia decided she had had enough.

"Why are we staying here?" asked Ilia. "We should walk out! Didn't you hear what they said?"

"Calm down, Ilia," said Kali. "I'm aware of what the boy was trying to do, but we're going to stay and enjoy our meal."

"You will, but I won't! I'm sick of this damn kingdom!" Ilia's skin had turned bright red with yellow spots, showing just how enraged she had become. "You say this place has karaoke? Sounds like an open mic to me!"

Realizing Ilia was planning to start a rant for the world to hear, Weiss got up before Ilia did and stood in front of her.

"Ilia, stop!" said Weiss, grabbing Ilia's shoulders. "Don't do something you know you're going to regret!"

"I'm not going to sit back and take this! Somebody needs to call these people out on their racism!"

"Ilia, please!" said Kali, grabbing Ilia's hand. "I know it's upsetting, but nothing is going to change by you acting out in public!"

"So we're just supposed to keep quiet and not speak out?"

"And what do you think will happen if you tried making a scene right now?" said Weiss. "People might think you're with the White Fang, and if word got out about what the White Fang tried to do at Haven, do you think any of these people are going to suddenly become Faunus sympathizers?"

"Weiss has a point, Ilia," said Kali. "Most of these people are struggling to provide for their families and praying they don't get attacked by the Grimm; the last thing they want to hear is a lecture about race relations. Imagine if after you lost your parents, humans came up to you to explain not everyone is as hateful as that department store owner or the Schnee Dust Company. Is that something you really want to hear?"

Ilia wanted to go out there and make a statement, but Weiss and Kali had good points. Her going on a tirade in a public place wasn't going to set a good image for her or the Faunus, and considering Ilia was a former White Fang operative herself, these people would use her past to continue justifying distrusting Faunus. Ilia sat down and calmed herself so her skin tone returned to normal, just in time before the owner came back out.

"I apologize again for my son," he said. "He's been under a lot of stress lately."

"I understand," said Kali. "I'm a parent to a teenager myself."

"You know what I think? I think it's because he watches too much of the damn news. Every day it's always about what happened to Beacon and the White Fang and all these conspiracies about huntsmen getting picked off. Boy needs to go outside and talk to people, you know?"

"You're right. I always believe if you went out and talked to people, you'd learn more than watching the drek they put on TV."

"Amen to that!" laughed the owner.

"So that boy was your son?" said Kali. "It must be wonderful to run a family business. Does the mother work as well?"

"Yeah, but she's on sick leave for the time being, so it's just the men in charge, ha ha!"

"Oh. Well, I hope she gets better soon."

"Yeah," said the owner, letting out a depressed sigh. "We all do. Now, what can I get you?"

The three of them made their orders and the owner went back to work.

"Did you hear the way he sounded about his wife?" asked Weiss. "It doesn't sound good."

"No, it doesn't," said Kali. "I feel sorry for that boy. I can't imagine what it must be like to be under that kind of stress."

"I do," said Ilia, remembering the grief she went through went she heard the news of her parents' death. "I wouldn't want to wish that kind of situation on anybody, human or not."

"Depends on the parents," said Weiss.

"Excuse me?" asked Ilia. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if someone really hated their parents? What if their parents were abusive or never gave a damn about their kids?"

"Abusive parents is one thing," said Kali, "but nobody should wish death on their parents."

"Even mine?"

Ilia and Kali were getting disturbed by Weiss' remarks. Kali was hoping Weiss wasn't implying she would do such a thing.

"Weiss...are you saying you would do that?"

When Weiss looked down on the table instead of immediately saying no, Kali knew she was about to hear something very unpleasant.

"Honestly?" said Weiss in a low voice. "I...I wish my parents were dead."

"Weiss!" said Kali, abhorred by Weiss' comments. "You should never say that about your own parents!"

"Are you forgetting who my father is? He's half the reason the White Fang became what they are!"

"But still, there's a part of him you still care for, right?"

"I care about him about as much as he does for me, and trust me, if I was taken hostage again, he wouldn't pay a damn cent to get me back! He can drop dead tomorrow for all I care!"

Ilia was shocked by how much Weiss hated her own father. It was one thing for Ilia and other Faunus to want to say that about Jacques Schnee, but Weiss? Ilia wondered how awful of a person Jacques was if even his own children hated him. Kali didn't want to tell Weiss how to feel about her own parents, but she at least wanted Weiss to take back what she said about wanting the man dead.

"Okay, Weiss," said Kali. "Suppose your father did suddenly pass away tomorrow. You might feel good about it, but what about the rest of your family?"

"They'd be more elated than me," replied Weiss. "My conniving brother would see it as his chance to get the company all to himself, my older sister already made a name for herself outside the family, and as for my mother...she would be the happiest woman in the world, if she even lives to see it herself."

Before Weiss can continue explaining her family situation, the owner came by with a bottle of sake and glasses for everyone to enjoy. As Kali poured sake for everyone, Weiss gripped her glass tight and stared into the liquid. Looking at her glass full of alcohol reminded her of why she hated her mother nearly just as much.

"I understand hating your father," said Kali, "but why your mother?"

"Because she enables him!" said Weiss. "He outright told her he cared more about the Schnee name than her, but she doesn't stand up for herself! She simply takes it and drinks herself closer to death every day! She might as well already be dead!"

Weiss hid her face from view to prevent anyone from seeing the tears coming out of her eyes.

"Winter is the only person I have left to look up to! The rest of my family can rot in hell for all I care!"

Kali wanted to say something to cheer Weiss up, until Ilia suddenly slammed her hand down on the table, catching both by surprise. Kali noticed Ilia looking angry about what Weiss was saying.

"Don't say that!" said Ilia. "Don't you dare say things like that, you hear me?"

Weiss turned around and saw Ilia look like she was about to cry herself.

"You don't realize how lucky you are to still have a family to come back to! I don't have a family! No matter how much I wish for it, I'm never going to see my parents again! As awful as your family seems, you still have a chance to make things right! Your father might be a lost cause, but surely there's still a chance to turn your mother around!"

"My mother hasn't spoken to me in years," said Weiss. "It's too late to get her to change!"

"You don't know that unless you try!" Ilia grabbed Weiss' hand and forced Weiss to look her in the eyes. "Even if it seems impossible, don't give up on her! I never thought I'd leave the White Fang, but Blake refused to give up on me. Try and change your mother's ways; do it before you're too late and regret it for the rest of your life!"

Weiss was moved by Ilia's encouragement. Looking back on her friends at Beacon, she was lucky to still have her parents; most of her friends either lost theirs or were on bad terms themselves. Weiss didn't think there was a chance to amend ways with her father, but perhaps there was still a chance with her mother.

"All right," said Weiss, grabbing a napkin and wiping her tears away. "When I go to Atlas...I'll try. I'm not sure I can do it, but I'll least try."

Hearing that brought a smile to Ilia and Kali's faces. Kali was especially happy to see Ilia and Weiss help each other the way they did.

 _"If only the rest of the world can learn from your example,"_ thought Kali.

The owner brought out their meals and the three of them ate in peace. While finishing their last bites, the staff was getting the karaoke stage ready.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen," announced the owner's son Azure. "The karaoke stage is now opened. Who will be the first brave soul to show off their singing chops?"

"Ready for some fun, girls?" asked Kali.

"No way," said Ilia. "I can't sing to save my life."

"I'd rather not," said Weiss.

"Don't tell me you two are scared to sing!" said Kali. "I'll tell you what! Rock-Paper-Scissors, loser has to sing!"

Not wanting to be pestered for the rest of the night, the girls decided to give in and play Kali's game. As the three women went on "shoot!", Weiss threw paper and the other two threw scissors, making Weiss the first victim.

"Fine," said Weiss, grabbing her shot of sake. "I might need this first."

Weiss drank her sake in one gulp and headed to the stage.

"Pick something upbeat!" said Kali.

"Upbeat, huh?" Weiss scrolled through a list of songs on the monitor and noticed they had the song that played during the Vytal ball dance. "I guess that will do."

"Okay everyone," said Azure, "let's give it up for Weiss who will be singing 'Shine' by The Sapphires."

Kali audibly cheered for Weiss while only a few other audience members clapped. Despite having performed in front of large audiences before, Weiss was a bit nervous wondering how a bar full of likely drunken and apathetic patrons were going to react. As soon as the words came on screen and the music was starting up, Weiss cleared her throat and began.

 _Baby! It's time to make up your mind! I think, that tonight is when our stars align_!

As soon as Weiss said the first verse, everyone's attention was caught by Weiss' angelic voice. Everything suddenly went quiet as everyone was now focused on Weiss' singing.

 _Honey! It's time to leave the doubt behind! Take my hand, cause you and I are gonna shine!_

Weiss had only started and yet some audience members were already wooing her. Seeing the audience enamored by her performance, Weiss was slowly getting into it and found herself enjoying the moment. Once the chorus was seen coming up, everyone in the restaurant was clapping and tapping their feet to the beat as Weiss put all her energy into it like she did for her recitals. While Kali was getting up and having a good time, Ilia sat in silence, admiring Weiss' vocal talents.

 _"She's good,"_ thought Ilia. _"Like...professionally good!"_

After Weiss sang the final lyric, the whole establishment erupted in cheers, a scene the owners hadn't witnessed for God knows how long. There wasn't a single person in that place whose spirit wasn't lifted.

"I think we can all agree that's going to be hard to follow!" said Azure. "Who here is willing to step up?"

"My turn!" said Kali, finishing her sake and running up to the stage as Weiss went back to her seat.

"How did you develop such a voice for singing?" asked Ilia.

"Ten plus years of recital practice," said Weiss.

"It certainly paid off."

"Thank you."

While Kali was performing karaoke, Ilia and Weiss were thinking of other subjects to talk about, but quickly found out they didn't have much to go on that didn't involve bringing up human and Faunus relations or family issues. They continued to stare into their sake until one of them decided to break the awkward silence.

"I wish I had something else to talk about," said Ilia.

"Well...how about Blake?" said Weiss. "How long have you known each other?"

"As soon as I joined the White Fang," said Ilia. "Her and Adam were the first two people I met when I searched out for the group. I performed many missions under Blake's supervision. She became the closest I ever had to a best friend. She was strong, intelligent, and passionate for Faunus rights. It's why I fell in love with her."

Weiss was surprised learning that Ilia wasn't just a friend of Blake's, but in love with her.

"So...were you and Blake ever a...thing?"

"No. Blake had her eyes on other people for so long. Even now she seems to have something for either Sun or Yang. Besides, I don't think I deserve to be with Blake. Not after everything I've done."

Ilia took a sip of her drink and sighed. While it upset her she and Blake were likely never getting together, she knew it was her fault those dreams were not to come true.

"How's your love life?" asked Ilia.

"I dated a couple of boys here and there," said Weiss, "but nobody's really captured my interest. Maybe I'm not that good at finding the right man. Or maybe it's because...it's not a man I should be looking for."

Weiss took a sip and sighed herself. She never usually looked at other girls the same way she did for boys, but was never against the idea of trying it out.

"What kind of girls do you like, Ilia?"

"Well, Blake was the only one I ever loved, so...I guess someone like her. Someone head strong and passionate. Good looks wouldn't hurt either. What do you want in a lover?"

"I guess I'd want someone who looks past my name and accepts me for me."

"Pfff, is that it?" said Ilia. "You might have to narrow it down a bit."

"Well...," said Weiss, thinking about her personal preferences, "that and they can't be a dork, or some edgy loser, or some brute jock. I guess someone who is a bit more sophisticated, but isn't a snob that the losers I've seen in Atlas."

"That...almost sounds like Blake."

"Oh my God, I think you're right!" Weiss laughed at the thought of her and Ilia having the same taste in dates. "Looks like I'm S.O.L. too!"

"Welcome to the club!" said Ilia, clinging glasses with Weiss and drinking the rest of her sake as she laughed alongside Weiss.

Ilia couldn't remember the last time she felt this good; to just relax and enjoy herself. Now she was glad she came along with Kali on this shopping expenditure; racist merchants aside, the night was becoming worth it thanks to Weiss' company.

"You know," said Ilia, "I'm really having a good time with you, Weiss. If you weren't a Schnee...I'd probably ask you out."

"You sure about that?" asked Weiss. "Because I'm very picky about what I consider an acceptable date! I'm not the kind who thinks pizza and a movie is a good first impression!"

"I'll take you to wherever you desire, so long as I don't have to meet your father."

"It's a date, then!" said Weiss, saluting Ilia with her glass before taking another shot and laughing.

"Was it that funny to you?"

"I'm sorry! I was just thinking...you know what I bet would really piss off my father? If he found out I was dating a Faunus. Hell, he'd probably drop dead if I told him my first kiss was with one!"

"Wait...does that mean you haven't had your first kiss yet?"

Weiss coughed and composed herself to answer in a more ladylike fashion.

"Not to sound prude," said Weiss, "but I have not. To me, a first kiss should be with someone important, not a throwaway on a date with someone you probably won't be with in a month."

"I understand," said Ilia. "I'm the same way, really. I was saving mine for Blake, but...you know."

Both girls looked down at their glass, wondering where to take this conversation next. Ilia rubbed the inner rim of her glass, unsure of what to say without making Weiss feel uncomfortable. Thinking back to what Ilia said a moment ago, Weiss decided to try asking Ilia something Weiss was getting curious about.

"Ilia, can you be honest with me?" said Weiss.

"About what?" asked Ilia.

"You said you'd ask me out if I wasn't a Schnee. Let's say I'm not; would the fact that I'm human still bother you?"

Ilia hesitated to answer at first. She usually would be bothered by the fact Weiss was a human, but after getting to know her and meeting Blake's other friends, she found herself questioning her own feelings.

"I...guess not? I mean, I never thought I'd date some human, much less become friends with one. But after meeting you and everyone back at the lodge...I think I'd be more open to the idea."

"What about kissing?"

Ilia turned away and slumped down to hide her blushing face, giving Weiss a sideways glance.

"Um...if it turned out I genuinely had feelings for them...then yes."

"I see."

Ilia noticed Weiss was slowly sliding herself closer to Ilia. Ilia could feel her heart thumping, wondering what Weiss was trying to do.

"Weiss? Is there a reason you're asking me these kinds of questions?"

"I want to propose something hypothetical. Let's say that today was our first date; a blind date if you will. You and I just spent the day shopping, singing, drinking, and pouring our hearts out. You started out the day thinking this would be nothing more than two people trying to get along and know each other better, but then you wonder..."

Weiss turned her body around to face Ilia, staring into Ilia's eyes as a slight blush formed on her face.

"Maybe there's a chance it could lead to something bigger...but there's only one way to find out."

"Are you...asking me to kiss you?" asked Ilia, her cheeks glowing pink.

"Just a practice kiss. Really quick, nothing serious, and if you think it feels right...maybe we can do it for real."

"I think this sake has gone to your head," said Ilia, yet as Weiss was inching herself closer, Ilia wasn't doing anything to keep her distance.

"Is that a no, then?"

"Well...if this just a rehearsal date...and maybe it is the sake talking...but I am somewhat curious."

Both swallowed some air and leaned forward to close the gap, but were being hesitant to take that initial plunge onto lip-on-lip contact. Weiss whispered to Ilia to go on three. Ilia nodded and waited for Weiss to say three before the two of them shared a blink-and-you-miss-it kiss on the lips. Weiss quickly backed away from Ilia to see how she would react.

"So...how was it?" asked Weiss.

"I'm not sure," said Ilia, turning her attention back to her drink.

"Yeah...same here," replied Weiss, turning to do the same. Both felt too awkward to talk about anything else, until Kali suddenly sat down next to Weiss and was giggling constantly, the faint smell of sake emitting from her breath.

"Girls?" said Kali. "I don't want to alarm you, but I forgot where we parked!"

"We took a taxi here," said Ilia.

"Oh yeah! Then it's a good thing I don't have to drive!"

Kali laughed, giving Weiss a good whiff of how much Kali was drinking while she was singing who knows how many songs.

 _"She's almost as bad as Qrow,"_ thought Weiss.

#

With their shopping over, the girls returned home and went to their respective rooms. As Ilia was getting ready for bed, Blake dropped in to find out if Ilia was on good terms with Weiss.

"How was your day?" asked Blake.

"Well...it could have been better," said Ilia.

"Did Weiss do something to you?"

"No. In fact, she stood up for us. To think that the first human to do something like that would be a Schnee."

Ilia explained what happened at the department store. Blake was surprised and elated Weiss stepped up to defend them.

"So, the two of you got along well?" asked Blake.

"We did," said Ilia. "I think we're good friends now."

"I'm really glad to hear that. See you in the morning."

Blake had her hand on the doorknob when Ilia felt the need to ask something important.

"Blake, before you go, I need to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"How do you contain your hatred for the people around you?"

Blake let go and turned back to Ilia. Ilia may have gotten along with Weiss and company, but it still angered her to see just how many hateful humans there were out there.

"So many humans in this damn kingdom look down on us," said Ilia, tightening her fists, "especially in that marketplace. If Weiss and your mother weren't there I would have..."

"There are good people out there, Ilia," said Blake, placing a hand on Ilia's shoulder. "You just need to find and befriend them. It can take a lot of time, but you'll soon have an army of allies to stand with you, just like I have."

"Thank you, Blake," said Ilia, patting Blake's hand and smiling.

"Good night, Ilia."

With Blake gone, Ilia laid in her bed to reflect Blake's advice on finding allies.

 _"Easier said than done, but at least I know I have one ally in Weiss. I still can't believe the first human I'd become friends with is a Schnee! Although, I'm not sure she is a 'friend.' It's not that I don't like Weiss, but why do I feel like 'good friends' doesn't really apply?"_

Ilia tried to figure out why it bothered her to simply call Weiss a friend. Ruby and Yang were her friends, Sun was a friend, but Weiss felt more than that.

 _"Maybe it's because I got to know so much about her? Despite her background, she's not a spoiled stuck-up brat. She had no fear in sticking up for us, and she's got such a lovely singing voice. Between that voice and her looks, I'd date her in a heartbeat if she were a Faunus! But even if she isn't a Faunus...I guess I'd still go out with her? She seems up to the idea herself."_

Ilia reflected on their conversation about their love lives and how they had a practice kiss. Ilia didn't think there'd be more to it than that, but now Ilia couldn't help but have Weiss on her mind.

 _"Why am I suddenly so obsessed over her? It's not like I'm in love with..."_

There was the word Ilia was looking for: Love. Ilia felt her heart racing again.

 _"Oh God...it can't be! I'm not falling for Weiss...am I? No, it's definitely the sake I drank and the long day we had! By morning, I definitely won't be thinking of her in that way."_

Ilia closed her eyes and forced herself to think about anything else as long as it didn't involve Weiss.

#

On the other side of the lodge, Weiss was changing into her new night clothes Kali had bought when Ruby came in and wanted to make sure Weiss and Ilia weren't fighting.

"So how was shopping?" asked Ruby.

"Aside from a store trying to rip us off," said Weiss, "it was a pleasant experience."

"Were you and Ilia able to get along?"

"Yes. Quite easily, too."

"Really? Easily? As in no fighting, arguing, or anything?" Ruby pumped her fists in the air and then gave Weiss a hug, which Weiss immediately forced Ruby to let go. "Weiss, I'm proud of you!"

"Proud of me? Did you think I wouldn't be able to get along with her?"

"I mean, considering where you're from and what she's done, I was worried you two would be at each other's throats."

"We are two very different people, but it wasn't any different than when we learned the truth about Blake, only Ilia didn't disappear on us for nearly three days. We understand each other very well."

"Glad to hear it! Nice to know we have one less thing to worry about before we head to Atlas!"

"One less thing indeed. Good night, Ruby."

"Good night, bestie!"

Ruby left before Weiss can remind her they still weren't best friends - even though Weiss at this point never sounded convincing enough. Overall, Weiss was happy to get some new clothes and to be on good terms with Ilia.

 _"Too bad there's still the problem about my parents_ ," thought Weiss, thinking back to the conversation she had with Ilia. _"But as much as I hate them, I guess I should be thankful they're still alive...or at least my mother. I can't remember the last thing we did together as just mother and daughter. Blake's mom was more of a mother to me and Ilia in one day than my mother has been in years. If only Blake's parents could be our parents instead; then we could be sisters! I'd finally have more than one decent relative!"_

Weiss imagined what it would be like to have Ilia as a sister. As much as Weiss looked up to Winter, Winter hardly showed a lighter side to herself; Ilia was at least up for shopping and fun, even if she was extremely hesitant at first.

 _"In fact, if Kali wasn't with us, I'd say it almost was like an actual date; a pretty good one at that. We even ended it with a kiss...sort of. I wonder what would have happened if Ilia actually enjoyed it?"_

Weiss was now picturing Ilia enjoying the kiss and asking Weiss out on a real date. Weiss would give it a shot, thinking Ilia couldn't be worse than some of the boys that have asked Weiss out in the past, and being a Faunus, it would be the perfect way to get back at her father.

 _"Maybe I should hook up with Ilia just to see my father's reaction! I can imagine the headlines about us coming together! 'Forbidden love! Schnee's daughter dates former Faunus terrorist!' We'd make out in front of every paparazzi and tabloid journalist! Show the world that the two people least likely to ever get together can and did, forever changing human and Faunus relations! That doesn't sound like a bad idea!"_

Weiss shook her head to shake the thoughts out. She clearly got carried away on 'what ifs' and seemed more interested in dating Ilia to spite her dad rather than being in love.

 _"Okay, now I'm overthinking this. Ilia and I are friends. There's no way this one experience we had is enough to justify us being romantically together. Besides, my feelings aren't THAT strong for her, and I doubt she would suddenly fall in love with me either."_

Weiss went to bed, convincing herself that her time out with Ilia was simply two girls becoming friends, and that it wouldn't lead to anything more than that.

 _"She did look cute in that kimono though."_

* * *

 **A/N: Wow this chapter became a lot longer than I thought it would. As you can tell, I'm becoming a fan of shipping Ilia and Weiss. I'd call it "Chamillion."**


	3. Breaking the News

After the big feast to celebrate the young huntsmen saving Haven, Jaune went straight to his room without saying a word. He flopped on his bed and pulled out his scroll, then shuffled through the playlist of training videos left to him by Pyrrha. He had gone through all the videos several times over; he can almost recite them all word for word. He had long stopped watching them to improve his skills and was instead watching just to hear her again; to tell him everything was okay, how hard he was working, how much he was improving, and for being her closest friend.

As he lied in bed watching Pyrrha, he heard a loud banging on his door. Jaune immediately put his scroll to sleep and placed it on the nightstand so it didn't seem like he was watching the videos.

"Who is it?" asked Jaune.

"It's Ruby. Can we talk about your plan tomorrow?"

Jaune didn't want to spend the night talking about what he was going to do, but if there was one person he had to speak to outside of his original team, it was Ruby.

"Sure," said Jaune, sitting up as Ruby walked in and took a seat across from Jaune.

"I assume this thing you have to do tomorrow involves Pyrrha," said Ruby. "Are you planning to find her parents to break the news?"

"Yes. We found their address and we plan to go as soon as possible."

"And are you sure you want to do this with just Ren and Nora? Me, Weiss, and I'm sure Blake and Yang would be more than happy to help!"

Hearing Ruby offering her help was exactly why Jaune didn't want anyone to know what he was doing. If it were anyone other than Ruby, he'd had gotten annoyed and told them to leave him alone, but he could never talk that way to her, especially since it was her who witnessed Pyrrha's death and was probably grieving as badly as he was.

"Ruby, I appreciate you offering help, but I'd rather you didn't," said Jaune in a calm and melancholy voice. "It's not that I don't want your help, but I feel like as her partner and as her..."

Jaune almost wanted to say "lover," but they never became that. Pyrrha may have felt that way towards him, but up until the very end, Jaune saw Pyrrha the same way he saw everyone else.

"...friend, I have to do it. Ren and Nora were teammates so they can help back up my statements about Pyrrha, and I don't want you coming thinking it was your fault or Weiss' fault or anyone else's fault about what happened to Pyrrha."

Ruby sighed, but nodded.

"I understand," said Ruby. "If you change your mind, don't be afraid to ask, okay?"

"I will."

Ruby got up to leave, but wanted to make sure Jaune was okay with wanting to do this on his own.

"Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope you know it wasn't your fault what happened to Pyrrha either. Nobody here is blaming you."

"I know, and thank you, Ruby." Jaune got out of bed and gave Ruby a hug. "You, Ren, Nora, and everyone else have really help me get through this."

"And you've helped me too," said Ruby, giving Jaune a tight squeeze back. "In case I don't see you tomorrow, good luck. You don't realize how brave you are for doing this."

"Thank you. Have a good night."

Ruby left Jaune's room, but stayed outside his door to hear what he'd do next. The sound was faint, but Ruby could hear Jaune playing the videos of Pyrrha, just like she did that night. Ruby entered her room where her original teammates were waiting to hear if Jaune accepted their help.

"What did he say?" asked Weiss.

"He insists on doing it with just his team," said Ruby. "I think we need to step back and let him do his thing."

"Should we follow him in secret?" asked Blake.

"I know we should all be there for each other, but...this feels like one of those personal things, you know? Besides, at least Ren and Nora will help him. So, unless he comes to us himself, we'll leave this one to Team JNPR."

The others were disappointed Jaune declined, but understood why he wanted to do this. The girls went to their separate rooms and hoped for the best.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hallway, a dusty old huntsman also happened to overhear what was going on.

#

Early the next morning, after everyone sat down for breakfast, Jaune went back to his room and looked over some notes he had scribbled about what he was going to say to Pyrrha's parents. He didn't know the exact words he was going to use, so he simply made bullet points he was going to bring up and have Ren and Nora fill in some of the blanks in case he himself blanked out. Jaune made sure to eat a very light breakfast in case his stomach decided to vomit it all back up, which he was betting would happen regardless of how Pyrrha's parents would react. While reading his notes, Nora and Ren entered the room to make sure he was ready.

"Are you two ready?" asked Jaune.

"We're ready to go whenever you are," said Ren.

"You'll be fine, Jaune," said Nora. "I'm sure they'll be angry at first, but once we explain everything, they'll be glad you told them."

"Is anyone else still here?" asked Jaune. He wanted to make sure there was as few people as possible so he didn't run into someone who tried to offer their help like Ruby did last night.

"Weiss and Ilia are out with Mrs. Belladonna," explained Ren. "The rest of RWBY are in their rooms, and I'm not sure where the others are."

"Then I guess now is a good of time to leave," said Jaune. "Let's move out, Team JNPR."

Team JNPR gathered their belongings and exited Jaune's room. They headed to the front door when they saw Qrow standing in front of it, with no way to get past him.

"Where are you kids going?" asked Qrow innocently.

"Nowhere important!" quickly replied Nora.

"Really? The Nikos residence isn't important?"

Jaune could feel his heart sink to his stomach. Of all the people he didn't want to know about his plan, he especially didn't want Ruby's uncle to find out. While Ren and Nora stood there dumbfounded on what to say next, Jaune took a deep breath and walked up to Qrow.

"Who told you?" asked Jaune. "Was it Ruby?"

"I found out myself," replied Qrow. "Gathering info is my specialty after all."

"No point in hiding then. Yes, we're going to the Nikos residence - just the three of us - and telling them about Pyrrha."

"Are you really ready to do it, though? It's not easy breaking that kind of news to someone. If you're not up to it, I can go in your place. I've got experience with this kind of thing."

Jaune gripped his backpack harder and tried his best to remain calm.

"No. I have to go. I have to do this."

"Then how about a few pointers?"

The more Qrow stood in the way and tried to offer assistance, the more it caused Jaune's blood to boil. Ren and Nora peaked over from opposite sides and noticed Jaune gritting his teeth.

"With all due respect, Qrow," said Jaune, talking stilted and with his teeth clamped down, "please mind your own business."

Qrow was used to people usually talking to him in an angry tone of voice and didn't care, but seeing Jaune telling him to get lost when he trying to be genuinely nice for once was offending him.

"Hey kid," said Qrow, dropping the nice attitude he was attempting. "I'm not trying to bust your chops here. I'm trying to help you!"

"And I told you I don't want it!" yelled Jaune. Ren and Nora got in front of Jaune to get him to back away.

"Jaune, he's just offering help!" said Nora. "There's no reason to be hostile!"

"Breathe, Jaune," said Ren, using his semblance to help mellow Jaune out. "You need to relax."

Jaune tried to breathe and calm down, but simply looking at Qrow and hearing him talk was making him furious.

"Qrow," said Jaune, somewhat calmer thanks to Ren. "I'm going to ask you to please step aside and let us go to Pyrrha's parents' home by _ourselves_."

"Kid, I get it," replied Qrow. "Your girlfriend died and you're trying to man up by breaking the news to the parents, even though you know they're not going to react kindly. That takes guts. You don't need to do this to prove you're a 'real man' if you're honestly not ready for it. I'm here to _help_ you. Got it?"

Jaune was already pissed that Qrow insisted on helping, but hearing him mention Pyrrha caused him to snap. To the shock of his teammates, he pushed Ren to the floor and broke off his semblance, stomping his feet as he approached Qrow. Nora made sure Ren was okay as Jaune got as close to Qrow as he could, a few inches short in height from meeting Qrow face to face.

"Just shut up, all right?" said an irate Jaune. "If you really want to help, don't say another word about Pyrrha!"

"Listen kid," said Qrow, getting just as irate as Jaune. "I'm not sure if you're trying to act like a big tough man, or you're just acting really stupid."

Qrow suddenly grabbed Jaune by the collar of his hoodie and lifted him up about an inch off the ground.

"But if it's a fight you want, you're about one step away from pissing me off!"

Witnessing the situation escalate out of control, Nora wedged the mallet of her hammer between Jaune and Qrow to break Qrow's grip and push Jaune away from Qrow.

"Okay!" said Nora. "Let's try to back away and give each other space, all right?"

While Qrow stood where he was, ready to throw fists any time Jaune wanted, Nora and Ren stood in front of Jaune to stop him from slugging Qrow and starting a fight.

"Stop this, Jaune!" said Ren. "We can't go if you're going to flip out like this!"

"I'm fine!" yelled Jaune. "I'm only flipping out because of him!"

"Qrow didn't do anything!" said Nora. "Jaune, we know you're upset about Pyrrha; we all are! But you shouldn't lash out like this, especially to your own teammates!"

Jaune suddenly remembered that in his rage, he had pushed Ren out of the way when it was uncalled for.

"I'm sorry Ren, and Nora," said Jaune. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's all right," replied Ren. "Sometimes you just need to vent."

"Now can you say sorry to Qrow and we can go?" asked Nora.

"...no," replied Jaune.

"No?" Nora was not at ease with Jaune refusing to say sorry.

"You heard me. I'm never saying sorry to that damn..." Jaune closed his eyes and turned his back to Qrow.

"If you got something to say about me, kid," said Qrow, holding his arms out as if daring Jaune. "I'm right here!"

"I tried to bottle this up for Ruby's sake," said Jaune, his voice getting shaky as everyone can tell he was on the verge of crying. "But since we're being open with each other..."

Jaune slowly turned around back to Qrow, his eyes welling up as he looked angrier than he even did when he confronted Cinder last night.

"I HATE you!"

Qrow figured Jaune didn't like him and wasn't really moved by the 'big' revelation. Nora and Ren on the other hand were surprised to hear Jaune loudly use to word "hate" for how he felt towards Qrow.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Nora. "I mean, 'hate' is such a strong word-"

"That's why I used it!" growled Jaune. "I hate him! I hate him with every fiber of my being! I hate him and Ozpin to an extent!"

"Ozpin too?" asked Ren. "Jaune, where is this coming from?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jaune pointed at Qrow, his arm shaking with pure rage. "It's because of him...because of Ozpin...that Pyrrha is..."

Qrow rolled his eyes and moaned. He knew where this was going and thought Jaune would have been over this by now.

"It's because of the whole Maiden thing, isn't it?"

"You're damn right it is!" yelled Jaune.

Hearing Jaune's voice ring throughout the lodge, the rest of Team RWBY along with Sun and Ghira came out to find out what the arguing was about. Seeing Jaune enraged and looking at her uncle, Ruby was worried about what they could be fighting about and ran over while everyone else kept their distance.

"Jaune? Uncle Qrow?" said Ruby. "What's going on?"

"Your friend really hates me," said Qrow. "Thinks it's my fault Pyrrha is dead."

Ruby was shocked to find out Jaune blamed Qrow for such a horrible thing. Being the one to witness Pyrrha's death, Ruby knew the only person to blame for Pyrrha's death was Cinder.

"Jaune?" said Ruby, turning to Jaune. "You...you really blame Uncle Qrow for Pyrrha?"

"Him and Ozpin!" replied Jaune, his voice cracking up from the rage taking him over. "If they didn't manipulate Pyrrha to become the Fall Maiden, she could have been still with us! We would never be in this situation in the first place!"

"Haven't we been through this already?" said Qrow, annoyed at having to retread old problems. "We didn't force Pyrrha to do anything!"

"Like hell you didn't! Sacrifice your soul to become a Maiden or let the world get taken over? What kind of choices was that?"

"And yet who was it to decide to fight Cinder instead of escape with everyone else? Pyrrha knew what she was getting into. She-"

"She was a student!" yelled Jaune as loud as he could, tears flowing freely from his eyes. "She was still a teenager! She had her whole life ahead of her and you...you stole that away from her!"

"Stop it!" yelled Ruby, now crying along with Jaune. "Qrow didn't kill Pyrrha and you know it, Jaune! We all know who's at fault and we're all as heartbroken as you!"

"Doesn't sound like it to me," said Qrow. "If he wants to blame me and throw temper tantrums like a child, let him! And you think you're ready to tell Pyrrha's parents what happened?"

"Knock it off!" yelled Nora, seething at Qrow trying to get under Jaune's skin. "Maybe Jaune has a point! Maybe you and Ozpin could have looked for someone else to take that Maiden responsibility first!"

"Don't you think we've been trying that? You kids don't understand what us grown-ups have been doing for years behind the scenes while you and your classmates were more focused on homework and prom dates!"

"Maybe we don't," said Ren, "but that doesn't give you the right to talk down to Jaune or any of us the way you have."

"Please, that's enough!" said Ruby, feeling like she was going to have a mental break down. "Jaune, Qrow, just...somebody apologize already!"

"I will NEVER apologize to him!" said Jaune.

"The feeling's mutual!" replied Qrow. "Grow up like the rest of us, kid, and maybe you'll finally stop crying like one!"

"You're telling ME to grow up? After what you made me go through the months after Pyrrha died?"

"The hell are you talking about now?"

"For months, I blamed myself for Pyrrha's death! Every night I went to sleep wondering what I could have done to stop it! All these what ifs in my mind...all these scenarios I make up where I could have saved her if I wasn't so..."

Jaune was so overwhelmed from his guilt of allowing his closest friend - the girl that loved him and he never realized it - to die because he was one of the most worthless huntsmen to ever step foot in Beacon, he had to pause to catch his breath and try to wipe some of the tears covering his eyes.

"She loved me, dammit! Pyrrha loved me and I let her die! It was all my fault!"

Before Ruby can walk over to hug Jaune and assure him again, Jaune marched up to Qrow and stood in his face once again.

"Do you know what that feels like, you old drunken bastard?" yelled Jaune. "How it feels to think it's your fault that someone who loved you was killed? To think that it's all because of you that they died?"

The lodge fell silent as everyone turned to see how Qrow would respond. Qrow stared at Jaune with a stone-cold expression, as if nothing Jaune had said or done even remotely touched Qrow's emotions.

"Not a clue," said Qrow. Qrow turned around and walked through the front door. Instead of going outside himself, Jaune marched back into his room and slammed the door shut. It appeared going to the Nikos residence was going to have to wait. Yang quickly ran outside to get Qrow, only to notice Qrow had already vanished, a single black feather falling from the sky.

"Dammit, Uncle Qrow," muttered Yang before heading back inside. When she went inside, she saw Ruby had fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, crying from having witnessed one of her closest friends and her uncle rip into each other with such venom. Yang ran over to get Ruby and take her back to her room to calm her down. Everyone else wondered where to go from here.

"Should we...do something?" asked Sun.

"There's nothing we can do," said Ghira. "Whatever those two are arguing about, they need to settle it themselves."

"What do we do now, Ren?" asked Nora.

"The only thing we can do," said Ren. "Wait for Jaune to come out."

In Ruby's room, Ruby was crying so much she can barely talk. Yang hadn't seen Ruby this upset since Ruby's mother passed away. Yang hugged Ruby and tried to wipe her tears away to calm her down.

"Relax, Ruby," said Yang. "This wasn't your fault. I understand Jaune was upset, but he crossed a line accusing Qrow of killing Pyrrha. As soon as Jaune comes out of his room, I'm going to set him straight!"

"No!" said Ruby, finally speaking up. "Don't do that, Yang!"

"But Ruby, what he said-"

"I know, but Uncle Qrow wasn't making things any better! He could have just said sorry and be done with it, but he tried to push Jaune's buttons instead! He's just as much to blame for this stupid argument getting out of hand! He could have at least not lied to Jaune before he left!"

"Lied about what?"

"What Jaune said about being at fault for someone close to you dying."

"You mean with...?" Ruby nodded and buried her head on Yang's shoulder. "Yeah...now that I think about it...those two kind of have something in common, and yet instead of bonding over it, they fight like petty children. Now one's locked himself in his room and the other flew off to who knows where. I swear if those two don't make things right before we head to Atlas, I'm going to give both hell."

Ruby kept quiet and continued sobbing on Yang's shoulder, praying the two of them would patch things up sooner than later.

#

After spending about an hour in his room trying to get over his argument with Qrow, Jaune told Ren and Nora they were leaving immediately. Ren and Nora didn't want to risk setting Jaune off, so they quietly went along with him. Team JNPR left the lodge without saying another word to anyone else, taking an airship to the Nikos residence.

Pyrrha's parents lived in a mansion in the outskirts of the main city, in a community where the wealthiest class of citizens lived, surrounded by some of the tallest mountains in Mistral to protect themselves from Grimm and other intruders. The Nikos mansion easily stood out from the others with the stone columns in front and square roofs, a Vale designed influence as opposed to the triangular ones of Mistral. Jaune could feel every individual beat of his heart as he looked at the mansion. In a few moments, he was going to walk up to the front door and explain to Pyrrha's family the unfortunate fate of their daughter.

"How do you think I should greet them?" asked Jaune.

"Just introduce who you are in a calm and frank manner," said Ren.

"Right. Calm and frank." Jaune took a deep breath and practiced some lines. "Hello. My name is Jaune Arc. Like that?"

"Precisely. Then tell them we're from Beacon and we've come to talk about Pyrrha."

"Right. Ahem...'We come from Beacon Academy and we need to talk about Pyrrha.' Is that good?"

"You'll be fine, Jaune," said Nora. "Just remember we have your back in case something goes wrong!"

"Of course. Well...it's time."

The three of them walked up to the front door. Jaune grabbed the knocker hanging near the top of the door and banged the door a few times, hoping that someone was inside to answer the door. They only had to wait about ten seconds, but staring at the plain white door for that amount of time, Jaune felt like he was in purgatory, awaiting to either arrive in heaven or hell depending on who decided to appear.

A woman looking to be in her mid-40s opened the door. She had shoulder-length bright red hair and emerald green eyes, a spitting image of Pyrrha herself. Jaune didn't know what to expect, but as soon as he saw Pyrrha's mother, he felt as if he was looking at what Pyrrha would have looked like if she had lived long enough to reach that age.

"Can I help you?" asked Mrs. Nikos.

"Uh...he-he-hello," stuttered Jaune. Jaune was suddenly at a loss for words. Sensing Jaune needed help, Ren decided to help get him started.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Nikos," said Ren. "My name is Lie Ren. We're huntsmen from Beacon Academy."

"Beacon Academy?" said Mrs. Nikos. "Could you wait a moment?"

The woman went back into the house and called for her husband. She returned to the door with a man who had short wavy dark-red hair and a thick full beard and mustache. Despite approaching his 50s, he looked burly enough to be a huntsman himself. Jaune was now doubly afraid how they were going to react to the news.

"Mr. Nikos, I assume?" asked Ren.

"Yes," said Mr. Nikos. "If you're from Beacon Academy, then you know of Pyrrha?"

"Yes," said Jaune. "Actually...we came to...talk about her."

Jaune tried to look up and face Pyrrha's parents, but seeing their worried expressions was too much for him to handle, so he just closed his eyes and kept his head down as he tried to force the words out of his mouth.

"Pyrrha...your daughter...she's..." Jaune was unable to form a complete sentence, but his message was clear. As expected, Pyrrha's mother did not take kindly to the news.

"Oh my God," muttered Mrs. Nikos before walking back into the house and crying.

"Is this the truth?" asked Mr. Nikos. "Has Pyrrha really...?"

"Yes," said Ren. "We're deeply sorry for your loss."

Ren gave Jaune a sideways glance and noticed he was still keeping his head down and almost crying himself. Ren tried to tap Jaune's ankle with his toe to signal to him to at least have the decency to look up to Pyrrha's father. Mr. Nikos went back inside to console his wife for a few moments before returning to Team JNPR.

"I think you three need to come in and explain some things," said Mr. Nikos.

"Of course," said Ren.

As the three of them went inside, Ren patted Jaune on the back and used his semblance to help Jaune pull himself together. While Jaune didn't perform well on the introductions, he still had a chance to make up for it if he could clearly explain what happened that fateful day.

Everyone gathered in the living room. Mr. Nikos arranged the furniture so Team JNPR could sit on a couch and he and his wife would sit in chairs across from them, a small coffee table separating the two groups. Mrs. Nikos had brought in a box of tissues and was already holding a handful, trying to wipe away her tears upon hearing the terrible news. Jaune sat on the middle of the couch with his teammates by his sides, then took a deep breath and introduced himself to Pyrrha's parents.

"I'm Jaune Arc. These are my teammates from school, Ren and Nora. Pyrrha was a part of our team."

"No doubt my girl was your leader?" asked Mr. Nikos.

"Well, actually...I was, um..."

"Jaune was our team leader," said Nora in a light-hearted tone, "and he was lucky enough to have Pyrrha be his partner."

"You were chosen over Pyrrha?" said Mr. Nikos, sounding slightly agitated about that. Jaune felt his spine straighten itself out and freeze in place.

"Honey, please!" said Mrs. Nikos. "Why does that make you upset?"

"Because look at him! I can take one look at him and know Pyrrha outclasses him in every way!"

"I'm sure their headmaster had their reasons."

"Your daughter was very strong and smart," said Ren. "She would have made a great leader, but Jaune has been a great leader to us as well, and Pyrrha was proud to have him as a leader and partner."

"I get it," said Mr. Nikos, mumbling under his breath how inept Beacon Academy operated. The trio on the couch pretended not to hear his ramblings.

"I assume you want us to cut to the chase," said Ren.

"Yes," replied Mr. Nikos. "What happened to Pyrrha? The last thing any of us saw was that fight where Pyrrha..."

Mr. Nikos gripped his fist tight, clearly not happy with what he witnessed Pyrrha do to Penny. Sensing Mr. Nikos might unleash an outburst, Ren nudged Jaune to start explaining.

"We were attacked by the Grimm," said Jaune. "The stadium was being overrun by them, but we...everyone...fought back. General Ironwood wanted us to retreat, but none of us wanted Beacon to fall without a fight, so everyone at Beacon stayed to fight off the hordes of Grimm attacking us."

"And robots and the White Fang!" said Nora. "It was an all-out warfare!"

"Pyrrha was a great help in fighting back against the hordes," said Ren. "Unfortunately, the numbers were getting too much for us to handle, and we were also attacked by a Grimm Dragon."

"Grimm Dragon?" gasped Mrs. Nikos. "A monster like that could wipe out entire cities in an instant!"

"That's why we were all ordered to fall back," said Ren.

"Then what happened to Pyrrha?" asked Mr. Nikos.

"She wanted to stay and fight," said Jaune. "I was the only one with her before she went off to fight the one responsible for starting this, and then she..."

Jaune had gone over his bullet points several times, imagining the different ways Pyrrha's parents would react, and how to explain in the right way why Pyrrha died. Yet when it finally came to do the deed, all Jaune could do was choke up and lose his voice. Hearing, or rather not hearing what Jaune had to say, Mr. Nikos was losing his patience.

"That's all you have to say?" said Mr. Nikos. "She tried fighting on her own and you decided to do nothing?"

"Honey, please!" said Mrs. Nikos, wrapping herself around one of Mr. Nikos' arms. "I'm sure he simply didn't decide to do nothing!"

"Then what DID he do?" yelled Mr. Nikos, looking angrily at Jaune, causing Jaune's skin to break out in a cold sweat.

"Hold your horses!" said Nora. "Can't you see he's still shaken up by all this?"

"And you think he's the only one that feels like this?" replied Mr. Nikos, not liking the way Nora was talking back at him.

"Calm yourself!" said Mrs. Nikos, gripping her husband tighter before he really lost his temper.

"I'll calm myself down when this boy starts talking!" Mr. Nikos turned back to Jaune and stared into his scared-looking eyes. "If you were her leader and partner, why didn't you stay with her? Why didn't you try helping her?"

Jaune opened his mouth, but was still not saying a word, causing Pyrrha's father to bang his fist on the table.

"Say something!"

"Honey, please!" said Mrs. Nikos. "I'm sure the boy can explain!"

"He was probably too scared to fight alongside her and ran away like a coward!"

"That's not true!" said Nora. "Jaune is not a coward!"

"Then what happened to my girl?" yelled Mr. Nikos. "Why didn't you save her?"

Everyone's attention was now focused on Jaune, but Jaune just sat there, too shaken up to explain the exact details of what happened.

"Jaune, say something," whispered Nora. Jaune kept muttering under his breath but still couldn't form a coherent sentence. Seeing Jaune freezing up, Ren and Nora decided to try and kill time while Jaune was trying to figure out what to say.

"It was a very hectic situation," said Ren. "I can barely remember what really happened myself."

"I want to hear it from him!" said Mr. Nikos. "Boy, look at me and tell me what you did! You ran like a coward and let her die, didn't you?"

"No he didn't!" said Nora. "We may not have been there, but Jaune would never have abandoned Pyrrha! Right, Jaune?"

With Jaune not immediately replying, Nora smacked Jaune in the back to hopefully jump start a reaction. Thankfully, it looked like Jaune was finally able to start talking again.

"Y-y-yeah," stuttered Jaune. "I tr-tried to tell her we...we needed to go, but she..." And just like that, Jaune lost his voice again.

"So you did run like a coward!" said Mr. Nikos.

"None of us ran like cowards," replied Ren. "We were told to retreat because the situation was dangerous."

"Then why isn't my girl here? Was she the only one of you lot that knew how to fight, and yet this scrawny little weakling of a leader couldn't?"

"Sir," said Ren, standing up, "with all due respect, Pyrrha may have been a better fighter, but Jaune was chosen as our leader for a reason, and if you could calm down, I'm sure Jaune could explain what happened."

"Don't tell me to calm down, _boy_!" said Mr. Nikos, standing up and almost getting into Ren's face.

"Don't talk to my teammate like that, _sir_!" said Nora, standing up as well.

Before the situation could get worse, there was another loud knocking at the front door. Mrs. Nikos immediately got up and headed to the door to see who would be visiting them at a time like this, while Ren, Nora, and Mr. Nikos all stared angrily at each other, while Jaune sat and stared at the floor, clueless with what to say and do next.

"Honey!" yelled Mrs. Nikos at the door. "There's another huntsman from Beacon! He says he wants to talk about Pyrrha!"

"Is it another kid?" replied Mr. Nikos.

"No," said a raspy voice, "but a lot of people think I act like one."

Hearing that familiar raspy voice, Ren and Nora immediately turned around to see Qrow come into the living room. The two of them were already upset by Mr. Nikos badgering Jaune, and Qrow showing up was only going to make them feel worse.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here!" said Nora.

"Settle down, kid," said Qrow. "We don't want a repeat of this morning now, do we?"

"What are you even doing here?" asked Ren.

"To help you kids out. Why else would I bother to show up?"

"Excuse me," said Mr. Nikos. "Who are you exactly?"

"Qrow Branwen, associate of Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon...and I'm the reason your daughter is dead."

Everyone was suddenly taken aback by Qrow making that statement out of nowhere, not knowing how to respond. It even caused Jaune to sit back up, wondering if he just heard Qrow admit Pyrrha's death was really his fault.

"If everyone can sit down, I'll explain what I mean."

Everyone quietly sat back down and turned their attention to Qrow, while Qrow decided to remain standing behind the couch with Team JNPR. Qrow took a quick shot of whiskey from his flask and cleared his throat.

"I'll make this brief. The staff of Beacon Academy, including myself, were monitoring a syndicate who were planning to attack Vale for a while. We believed the enemy infiltrated Beacon Academy and planned to attack during the Vytal Festival. We were working to finding out who it was before something tragic took place. Unfortunately, we were far too late to stop it, and that's when the invasion happened. Because of the overwhelming number of Grimm we were facing, the students decided they needed to step up and lend a hand, like the three you see here."

"I can't imagine they were much help," replied Mr. Nikos, "especially this boy who claims to be Pyrrha's partner."

Ren and Nora turned back to Mr. Nikos, not happy with him constantly questioning their skills. Before Ren and Nora can reply, Qrow spoke up again.

"Of course they weren't much help. I mean, you can take one look at Jaune over here and know he's not going to fare well in a fight."

Team JNPR turned back to Qrow, wondering why Qrow thought he was helping by agreeing with Mr. Nikos on how awful the team was. Jaune was tempted to get up and sock Qrow as hard as he could.

"But it's not their fault they wouldn't have been a big help; they're just kids. The most dangerous battle they ever fought were tame Grimm missions. All the students were just kids with no real war experience. Even your own daughter, no matter how many tournaments she won or how many accolades she earned, never experienced a war-like situation. It was the responsibility of us adults to make sure what happened at Beacon was prevented, and well...we screwed up hard, and these kids paid the price for our mistakes."

Team JNPR went from being irate with Qrow to being moved by him shouldering the blame for the downfall of Beacon. Jaune was amazed with how well Qrow kept calm and didn't seem the least bit nervous or emotional trying to explain himself.

"If you want to lash out at someone failing to save your kid and the many citizens of Vale, you can blame me, Beacon's staff, Ironwood and his robots...blame whoever amongst the adults you wish. But these kids were put in a situation they never deserved to be in, well before they were properly trained to handle it, and for what it's worth..." Qrow smiled and placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "They did a damn better job than expected. Your daughter was especially the best among them. While we tried to get everyone away from the danger, she ran into it to save anyone she could. The loss of Pyrrha Nikos was one of the worst things to happen to Beacon, and not just because she was the strongest of the bunch. She represented everything heroes are supposed to be, and right now, we could all use more heroes like her."

Mrs. Nikos grabbed a tissue, heartbroken but happy to hear how big of an influence her daughter was to the people at Beacon. Hearing Qrow give his explanation, Mr. Nikos' anger subsided, but he still needed one question answered from Jaune.

"Tell me the truth, Jaune," said Mr. Nikos. "Did Pyrrha have any last words for you?"

Jaune was still nervous about what to say until Qrow patted Jaune's shoulder to encourage him. Knowing Qrow had his back suddenly gave Jaune the confidence boost needed to speak up.

"If you really want the truth," said Jaune, "before she went off to fight...she kissed me, said she was sorry, and shoved me into a locker that sent me flying away."

Mr. Nikos contemplated everything he heard, then stood up and gestured Jaune to get up as well.

"Come with me, boy," said Mr. Nikos.

"Just me?" asked Jaune, worried about having to be alone with Pyrrha's father.

"You'll be fine, kid," said Qrow. Jaune sighed and got up, following Mr. Nikos into another room of the mansion.

"You children must have been through so much," said Mrs. Nikos. "Would you like tea or coffee?"

"Tea would be great, Mrs. Nikos," said Ren, with Nora nodding in agreement.

"And you, Mister Branwen?"

"No thanks," said Qrow. "Can't stand that stuff."

As Mrs. Nikos went to the kitchen to prepare the tea, Qrow jumped over the couch taking Jaune's spot, then pulled out his flask to take in another shot. Qrow was all smiles at seeing the situation being diffused, but Ren and Nora weren't as happy.

"Don't think this makes up for earlier this morning," said Nora. "I still think you owe Jaune an apology."

"All in due time," said Qrow.

"Tell us the truth," said Ren. "Why did you decide to show up?"

"Honestly, I was thinking of minding my own business and letting your leader squirm to show you how out of your league you kids really are; but after I mellowed out for a bit, I realized this fight between us wasn't going to benefit anyone, especially Ruby. So, I decided to be the bigger man and help him out anyway."

While Qrow was hanging out with Jaune's teammates, Mr. Nikos led Jaune to one of the rooms on the second floor. Before they entered the room, Mr. Nikos stood by the door and looked at Jaune's weapon.

"Your shield," said Mr. Nikos. "That bronze looks like a recent addition. That metal came from her armor, did it not?"

"Yes," said Jaune. "Where I'm from, when warriors lose their partner, they carry part of their weapon or armor with them so they can keep fighting together."

"Quite a noble tradition. We have something like that in Mistral. Do you know what an omamori is?"

"No sir."

Mr. Nikos pulled out a thin red and gold pouch from his back pocket. The pouch had some ancient Mistralian writing with a string attached on the top.

"In Mistral," explained Mr. Nikos, "when we lose a loved one, we take one of their precious belongings and seal it in a pouch to carry with us, so their soul can watch over us as long as we keep that pouch sealed."

"Does this have something to do with what you're about to show me?" asked Jaune.

"Indeed."

Mr. Nikos opened the door and led Jaune in. Jaune entered the room and was bombarded with images of Pyrrha plastered all over the room, from the posters and newspaper articles on her tournament victories to the Pumpkin Pete's cereal boxes and merchandise baring her likeness. Jaune knew Pyrrha was supposed to be famous, but seeing it all in one room still struck him with awe.

"We kept all of Pyrrha's trophies and accomplishments over the years," said Mr. Nikos. "As you can see, she's made quite a name for herself in a short amount of time."

"You must have been really proud of her," said Jaune.

"I still am. But as proud as I am for my daughter, I would have gladly given this all away to make sure she never became a huntress."

"I'm sorry!" said Jaune, feeling he crossed a line somehow. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's all right, my boy," said Mr. Nikos, patting Jaune on the shoulder. "Deep down, I always hated that Pyrrha decided to become a huntress. As heroic and honorable of a profession it is, the risks involved are too much. Every mission, big or small, could be your last. Yet she always insisted it was her calling to save lives. So, we did what parents thought they should and supported her ambitions. We watched the Vytal tournament in support of her, and then...that fight."

"I can explain! Pyrrha didn't mean to do that! She was-"

"I know. It looked like she murdered that robot or whatever it was, but I know Pyrrha would never do such a thing on purpose. Sadly, that was the last image anyone ever saw of Pyrrha. Imagine how everyone reacted thinking they saw a huntress people looked up to murder another student in cold blood!"

Jaune looked closer at the posters and merchandise. Jaune imagined there must have been fans with rooms like this, looking up to Pyrrha like a hero. But after what Pyrrha did to Penny in front of the whole world watching, those fans must have been heartbroken seeing their hero appear to be a fraud. Without the CCT, the world at large didn't know the truth, and as far as they knew, Pyrrha had turned into a murderer.

"When the news about Beacon was reported and Pyrrha never tried to contact us, we had assumed the worst had happened. I tried to put on a brave face and hope for the best, but I knew in my heart that it was likely we lost our girl. At least we now know her fate for certain."

Mr. Nikos went over to a shelf and grabbed a glass case containing what appeared to be a normal coin. He opened the case and showed the coin to Jaune.

"You see this coin, Jaune?"

"It's a quarter lien coin, right?" asked Jaune. "Is it special?"

"This coin was the very first thing Pyrrha ever used her semblance on. I consider it a precious memento of my daughter."

Jaune had a feeling he knew where Pyrrha's father was going with this.

"Is this why you told me about the...omamori, was it?" asked Jaune.

"It is," said Mr. Nikos. "From what you and your friends have told me, it's clear to me Pyrrha thought you were important to her, and that she did everything she could to protect you. With this coin, I'm going to make sure she can continue to do so."

Jaune could hardly believe it. He thought for sure Mr. Nikos was going to end up hating him; now here he was being given an item of Pyrrha's that meant a lot to her father. To Jaune, receiving that coin was like being presented a badge of honor.

"Sir, I...I don't know what to say," said Jaune, wiping his tears on his sleeve.

"Just promise me to carry out what Pyrrha would have wanted, and on a more personal note..." Mr. Nikos grabbed Jaune's hand to give him a firm handshake. "Kill the bitch responsible."

"I will, sir!" said Jaune, firmly shaking Mr. Nikos' hand.

#

After Mr. Nikos completed making Jaune's omamori, Jaune tied it to a notch on his jeans and tucked the pouch containing Pyrrha's coin into his pocket. Team JNPR and Qrow were now going to leave the Nikos mansion, saying their final goodbyes to Pyrrha's parents.

"Thank you so much for allowing us into your home, Mr. and Mrs. Nikos," said Jaune, bowing in front of them.

"Thank you for finally giving us some comfort," said Mr. Nikos. "While the news is not what we hoped to hear, it was good to know she was a brave woman, and that she had many friends who loved her like we did. Be careful out there, young warriors, and may Pyrrha's spirit forever watch over you."

Once the four of them left the property, Nora let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I feel like I just dropped a million tons off my shoulders!" said Nora.

"You and I both," said Ren.

"So, kid," said Qrow, nudging Jaune in the shoulder, "finally glad to have gotten that over with?"

Jaune suddenly stopped in his tracks, gripping his fists tight. Ren and Nora were worried Jaune was going to lash out at Qrow again.

"What now? Don't tell me you're still mad at me about all this."

"No," said Jaune, "I'm not mad. Actually...I should be thanking you. I nearly blew it back there. I thought I had everything planned out, but the moment I tried to talk, I just...froze."

Jaune covered his eyes with his arm, not wanting to start bawling in front of his teammates.

"All I had to do was explain what happened, but every time I looked at them, I just couldn't do it!"

"But you did do it, Jaune!" said Nora, gripping Jaune's shoulder. "You pulled through in the end and that's what matters!"

"She's right," said Ren, gripping Jaune's other shoulder. "You finally completed one of the reasons we came to Mistral. You should be proud, Jaune."

"It's like I was trying to tell you, kid," said Qrow, "Doing that kind of stuff isn't easy. Even grown-ups can barely pull themselves together to do it, and in this line of work, you tend to do it a lot."

Jaune put his arm down and looked up to Qrow.

"Does it get any easier?" asked Jaune.

"Never. You just have to find a way to cope with it."

Qrow took out his flask for another quick shot of his drink. Jaune had noticed Qrow had taken a shot before speaking up. Jaune began to wonder if Qrow's drinking habit was his way of coping, or he was just an alcoholic with a lot of confidence.

"Qrow?" said Jaune. "If you don't mind me asking, who was your first?"

"First?" replied Qrow.

"Yeah. When was the first time you ever had to break that kind of news?"

"Heh," said Qrow, swishing the liquid in his flask around. "You know what they say about never forgetting your first? No matter how much I drink, I still remember mine. It was for a huntress I knew very well. A friend who was kind of like family to me...the way Pyrrha was like family to you three."

"How did their loved ones take it?"

"If you think Pyrrha's parents were outraged, you should have seen her family's reaction. Her husband didn't want to believe it the moment I told him. He never said it outright, but I think he partially blamed me for it. The kids, though...I'll never forget the faces they made when I told them their mom was never coming back. Faces I hope to never see anyone make again."

Qrow take another swig from his flask; Jaune wasn't sure if it was because Qrow just really liked the taste, or Jaune was making him remember something he wished he could forget.

"I'm sorry," replied Jaune.

"For what?" asked Qrow.

"What I said this morning. About accusing you of being responsible for Pyrrha's death, about you not understanding what I was going through with losing Pyrrha, and about calling you a drunken old...you know." Jaune reached his hand out to Qrow for a handshake. "You've experienced what I have and a lot more. I should have taken your advice instead of lashing out."

Rather than shake Jaune's hand, Qrow put on a sheepish smile and patted Jaune on the back.

"Don't sweat it, kid," said Qrow. "I've been called all sorts of names over the years - the kind I can't repeat in front of children. As for the stuff you accused me of, you wouldn't be the first person to make those kinds of accusations."

"Ahem?" said Nora.

"And I'm sorry for...well, I guess whatever I'm supposed to be sorry for. We cool now?"

"Yeah...we cool," said Jaune, smiling back.

"Oh, but there is one thing you are wrong about."

"What is it?"

"You said I've experienced what you have? Not exactly. There's one key difference between me and you, kid."

Jaune and his friends were getting uneasy wondering where Qrow was taking this, and hope it suddenly didn't end with Qrow and Jaune no longer being "cool" with each other.

"What are you talking about?" asked Jaune.

"You told me you blamed yourself for Pyrrha, thinking it was your fault she died. Pyrrha's death wasn't your fault, kid. But...the person I lost close to me?"

Qrow drank another shot from his flask and sighed, his smile turning into a frown as he half-heartedly looked at the ground.

"It was my fault."

Qrow immediately then turned around and started walking off, clearly not interested in discussing it any further. The four of them left the community in silence, not uttering another word until they returned to the lodge.

#

As soon as Qrow and Team JNPR returned to the lodge, Jaune wanted everyone still at the lodge to come into the living room so he can make an announcement. Seeing Qrow and Jaune standing by each other, Ruby was hoping the announcement was good. Yang folded her arms, ready to chew them out if what Jaune said was nothing less than an apology.

"I want to apologize to everyone for what I did this morning," said Jaune, "especially to Ruby and Qrow. I should not have lashed out the way I did."

"Well I shouldn't have pushed you to do that in the first place," said Qrow, "so apologies right back."

Qrow and Jaune quickly shook hands much to everyone's relief, especially Ruby. Yang was also relieved she didn't need to try resolving yet another dramatic situation.

"I'm glad you worked things out," said Ruby. She wanted to know how well Jaune's meeting went, but didn't want to spoil the good mood Jaune and Qrow seemed to be in.

That night as everyone was getting ready to sleep, Jaune picked up his scroll intending to play another Pyrrha video, but then looked over to the omamori he received from Pyrrha's father sitting on the nightstand. He couldn't quite explain it, but it really did feel like he could sense Pyrrha's spirit standing where the omamori was laying.

 _"On second thought...maybe not tonight."_

Jaune put his scroll on sleep mode and placed it on the nightstand, then shut his eyes and went to sleep without any sense of sorrow in his heart.

Meanwhile, Qrow sat up on his bed, staring into the photo of his team he carried around. It had been over ten years since that fateful day, but as he told Jaune, all the drinking he'd ever done never made him forget when he broke the news to the family.

 _"What do you mean she's not coming back, Qrow?"_

 _"What happened to her, Qrow?"_

 _"How...how could this have happened?"_

 _"No! Mommy must be coming back! We need mommy!"_

"Never again," said Qrow. He drank the last of his whiskey from his flask, placed it on the nightstand with his photo, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: I wish Jaune and Qrow had more interactions like this in the actual show. Ah well.**

 **Speaking of interactions, as much as I like Ilia & Weiss as a ship, I'm kind of having writer's remorse putting it in this story since it almost detracts from the rest of the story. I had another scene with them in mind for the conclusion but might retool it to be less romantic. Feel free to PM me or leave your opinion in a review of if I should drop that subplot.**


	4. Haven's New Headmaster

With Leo Lionheart dead, that left Haven without a headmaster to lead the school. With the new school term about to begin in a couple of days, Qrow was in Lionheart's office, going through Haven's directory of professors to see which of them was willing to become the new headmaster of Haven. Usually this decision was left to the ruling council of the kingdom, but Qrow was not going to wait for pencil pushers to take all the time they wanted making up their mind, plus Qrow thought better to have the decision made up by a group of people easily duped by the traitorous Lionheart.

Unfortunately for Qrow, the professors he could contact were not up to be the new headmaster of Haven.

"Come on, Momotaro!" said Qrow. "You're one of the few tenured professors at that school!"

"After everything that Haven and Beacon have gone through?" replied the professor over the phone. "No way in hell, Qrow!"

Before Qrow can get another word in, Professor Momotaro hung up on him. Qrow decided to try another professor who was well respected in the school.

"Urashima, you have to take the position. We're running out of options and time."

"I can't, Qrow," replied Urashima. "Haven is a lost cause, and I'll be damned if I end up like the others."

Once again, Qrow got hung up on. He decided to try one more professor before calling it a night.

"Hanasaka, it's Qrow. I'll cut to the chase: Haven needs a new headmaster and-" Qrow suddenly heard the hang up noise on his scroll. "Of course, you would."

Qrow wanted to take the directory and burn it to ashes. Not one professor from Haven was willing to become headmaster, and he had no idea what to do.

#

Ghira, Kali, Sun, and Ilia were gathered at the lodge, discussing the next step they would be taking to getting their Faunus rights group back on track. Blake's parents had wanted Blake to be part of their discussion, but Blake said she had other matters to attend to. She didn't get into detail about it, but Sun and her parents knew it had to do with her strained relationship with Yang. Blake was currently spending time with Yang somewhere in Mistral, leaving the rest of the Faunus to decide what to do now.

"So, what exactly are we gonna call this new Faunus rights group?" asked Sun. "I doubt we can continue using the White Fang name. We need something more friendly sounding, like...Yellow Tail!"

"I agree about the name change," said Ilia, "but 'Yellow Tail' makes us sound like cowards. How about...Black Claw?"

"Too menacing! How about...the Rainbow Furs?"

"That's even worse than your first suggestion," remarked Ghira.

"But it sounds more inclusive, and people love rainbows and furry animals! It's win-win!"

"We are not calling ourselves the Rainbow Furs!" yelled Ghira, slamming his fist on the table to emphasize his point.

"Okay, sheesh!" said Sun, putting his feet on the table and leaning back in his chair. "I'm just thinking of something that sounds good to people."

"Nobody in their right mind would think that name sounds good."

"I kind of like that name," muttered Ilia to herself.

"Look," said Kali, "it doesn't matter what we name is this new group of ours. As long as we have a strong leader like our husband at the helm, we can undo the damage the White Fang have caused. What we should be discussing is how to get our new message out now that Adam is no longer in power."

"Well, Mister Belladonna?" said Sun. "You're the leader; what should we do?"

Ghira folded his arms and looked down on the table, not looking pleased with himself.

"Honey?" said Kali. "What's wrong?"

"Whatever our new brotherhood does next," said Ghira, "they'll have to do it without me. I cannot be their leader."

"But Mister Belladonna!" said Ilia. "We need someone like you to lead the Faunus!"

"I already led the White Fang and failed. If anyone should lead this new Faunus group, it's Blake. She's a stronger and more intelligent influence than I ever was."

"But Blake has to focus on her team's mission in Atlas!" said Kali. "We can't get her to pull double duty!"

"I know," said Ghira, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "But someone new needs to lead this group."

"Then I'll be the leader!" said Kali.

"Great idea!" said Sun. "A female motherly figure leading the charge? People will definitely latch on to that!"

Ghira opened his eyes and stared angrily at Sun. Even when Ghira was calm, his mere glances made Sun's spine shiver.

"Again, just trying to make it sound good for the people!"

"Thank you, Sun!" said Kali. "I think people will latch on to that idea."

"But Kali!" said Ghira. "This is going to involve more than participating in protests! What if we are forced to take up arms like we had to for Haven?"

"I've trained in the military just like you, Ghira. Should we ever have a call to arms, I'll be there to lead the frontlines!"

"No! I am not going to let you put yourself in harm's way!"

As much as Ghira trusted his wife's skills and judgement, he felt it was his duty as a man and a husband to never let any harm come to his wife. Seeing Ghira refusing to let Kali lead the new group, Ilia decided to stand up and offer her idea.

"I know I probably don't deserve such a position," said Ilia, "but...I will step up and lead this new revolution if I need to!"

Ilia was nervous, worried how Blake's parents and Sun were going to react. She just about expected them to outright reject her because of her history.

"Actually," said Sun, "that's not a bad idea. In a way, you're a lot like Blake. Passionate for Faunus rights, thought a violent response was the right one, learned the error of her ways and chose peace over war. If you don't call your group something dumb like Black Claw, it just might work!"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that last remark," replied Ilia, "but thank you."

"See?" said Ghira. "We have our leader right here!"

"Nonsense!" said Kali. "Ilia, I'm sure you would do everything you could, but you're still just a child, like Blake! Leading this group is too much pressure someone your age!"

"I know it'll be hard and stressful," said Ilia, "but I'm willing to do whatever it takes for humans to treat Faunus as their equals!"

Ilia's skin suddenly turned green, indicating she was depressed about something.

"Besides...it's not like I have anywhere else to go."

Whereas Blake and Sun had their teams, and Blake's parents had their lives in Menagerie, Ilia had nothing. The White Fang was all Ilia had in her life. She didn't have a family or a home to return to; the White Fang fulfilled all those needs. If someone had to lead this new Faunus group, it might as well be the one who had nothing else in her life to work towards.

Kali wanted to say something to comfort Ilia when suddenly the front door of the lodge opened and in walked Qrow. Qrow slammed the door shut and flopped face first on the couch, moaning loudly into the couch cushion. The Faunus got up to see what was wrong.

"Are you okay, Mister Branwen?" asked Ghira.

"Do me a favor, will you?" asked Qrow, still lying face down on the couch. "Grab a pillow and smother me until I stop moving."

"This must be dire if you're making requests like that."

"Weren't you searching for Haven's new headmaster?" asked Kali. "How is that going?"

"Like trying to fit my fist in a bottle," said Qrow.

"Is it really that difficult to find a new headmaster?" asked Ghira. "Doesn't one of the professors usually take over?"

"They would if they weren't either dead or unwilling. Leo really screwed us in more ways than one. If he weren't already dead, I'd kill that son of a bitch."

"So why not ask Ozpin for help?" asked Sun. "Didn't you say he was in the body of that farm kid you found?"

"He's still out cold from the battle we had. Turns out two souls sharing the body of a kid who barely knows how to fight takes a heavy toll on you."

Qrow rotated his body around and grabbed a pillow to wrap around his forehead. All the stress of still having no headmaster and Ozpin being AWOL was giving him a migraine.

"The first day of class is in two days and the school is nowhere near ready to begin. What are we supposed to tell hundreds of students when they get back?"

"Perhaps you should be the headmaster," said Kali. "You were a teacher before, weren't you? I'm sure a huntsman of your experience would make a good headmaster."

"I would if I could, but I've got to help Ozpin find the relics. Any of you know a good professor?"

"I'm afraid not," said Ghira. "I'm sorry we can't be much help."

As the grownups were trying to think of what to do to help out Qrow, Sun looked at Ghira, then looked over to Qrow, then back to Ghira, then back to Qrow with a smile on his face.

"I've got it!" exclaimed Sun, banging his fist into his palm. "Qrow, I've found your headmaster!"

Everyone gave Sun a confused look.

"What?" said Qrow, sitting up.

"A headmaster should be someone with combat experience, wisdom, and knows how to lead, right?"

"I'm sure there's like a dozen other qualifications, but basically, yeah."

"Well then, I just happen to have the perfect candidate!"

"And who exactly are you talking about?"

"Why, the man standing before us: Ghira Belladonna!"

"What?" said Ghira, taken aback by Sun's suggestion. "You think I should be the headmaster?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Sun!" beamed Kali. "My husband does have the fighting experience and leadership skills!"

"But darling, this is a school we're talking about, not a militia! I wouldn't know the first thing to do!"

"You couldn't be any worse at it than the last guy!" said Sun.

"The annoying kid is right," said Qrow.

"See? Even he thinks...hey!"

"You are a name we can trust, Mister Belladonna. Between Leo's betrayal and Ironwood being...well, himself, it's important we have someone we know for sure is trustworthy in the role."

Qrow got off the couch and offered Ghira a handshake.

"What do you say? Does 'Professor Belladonna' sound good to you?"

Ghira was reluctant on his decision. As much as Kali and Sun supported the idea, he had his doubts on if he could really lead a huntsman academy considering he was already a failed leader. But as Qrow pointed out, he was someone who could be trusted to not turn his back on Qrow and the others, plus as annoying as Sun was, even Ghira had to agree he was still a worthier candidate than that cowardly Leo. Ghira nodded and shook Qrow's hand.

"I'm not promising I'll do a good job," said Ghira, "but you've got yourself a headmaster."

"I'm so proud of you, honey!" said Kali, giving her husband a hug.

"I think you'll be doing Haven a great service!" said Sun.

"Thank you," said Ghira. "However, Sun, this changes _nothing_ between us!"

"Not even if I start acting like the teacher's pet?" Even when Sun tried sucking up to Ghira, he still got on Ghira's nerves.

"Qrow, is it true a headmaster can expel their students?"

"Oh yeah," said Qrow.

"Honey, be nice!" said Kali.

#

The next day, Qrow had decided to call up the council and announce he had found a new headmaster for Haven. The council were up in arms about Qrow deciding to assign a new headmaster without their consent. Qrow took a shot from his flask while he stood there and listened to the geezers rattle on.

"You can't assign a headmaster without consulting us first!"

"And furthermore, he was a former leader of the White Fang! We can't possibly trust someone with that background!"

"Listen," said Qrow. "I understand that by law, it's the council's decision to determine the headmaster of Haven Academy. I also understand that Leo deceived all of you right under your nose, while you sat back and did nothing when he sent my brothers and sisters to their deaths."

"Then you understand your decision is null and void?"

"What I'm saying is...I don't give a _damn_ what you think. Ghira Belladonna is going to lead this academy, and if you can't find any professors to start teaching these students, he also happens to have many unemployed friends from the former White Fang willing to do the job pro bono."

"Very well, Branwen! That Faunus can stand in as a scab for now! In the meantime, there's still the issue of protecting the Spring Relic!"

"Oh, that thing?" said Qrow. "I'll be holding on to that item. Wouldn't want Haven Academy to be attacked again for it, would we?"

"Are you insane, Branwen? You can't just take that item for yourself! What would Ozpin say if he were to see what you were doing?"

"I dunno," said Qrow nonchalantly. "I'll have to ask him myself."

"What are you talki-"

Having finished his business with the council, Qrow hung up on them and went back to packing up Leo's stuff in the office of the soon-to-be-new headmaster.

#

While everyone was happy for Ghira becoming the new headmaster, that night was one of the most stressful ones Ghira ever had. Qrow had informed him that he needed to make a speech welcoming the students back to Haven Academy. Ghira had ideas in his head, but so far, all he could do was stare at a blank piece of paper for nearly an hour. Qrow, Kali, and Sun checked on him to see his progress, only to find out he hadn't made any.

"Having writer's block, professor?" asked Qrow.

"What am I going to say to these kids?" asked Ghira, tapping his pen on the paper. "I wouldn't know where to begin!"

"Maybe you need some green tea to get that brain working," said Kali, going into the kitchen to prepare some tea.

"Try starting with a joke," said Sun. "That's always a good way to start a speech!"

"Kid," said Qrow, "do us a favor and stop making stupid suggestions."

"It's still better than anything I can come up with," said Ghira, putting his pen down and taking off his reading glasses.

"It can't be that hard. Tell them what you want to say. Tell them why you're there and what you plan to do. Just try not to bring up the Maidens or the relics."

"Well...I'm there because no else is."

"Probably not a good way to start it," said Sun.

"But it's the truth! I don't even know what they teach in these academies!"

"Let's see," said Qrow. "You got weapon maintenance, world history, Grimm anatomy, sparring matches...I think you got science in there somewhere..."

Ghira's curiosity peaked at hearing that they taught history in the huntsman academy.

"World history, huh?" said Ghira. "What kind of history, exactly?"

"I dunno. I guess the basic stuff. Famous battles, kingdom's customs...I never paid much attention. I was always about teaching to make weapons and training to fight. You got an idea in mind?"

"I have several ideas I want to implement in the school. Ideas that focus on the world around these students, not just what they read from books."

"Yeah!" said Sun. "Books are boring and long! I've always believed we needed more field trips!"

"That's NOT what I'm talking about!" said Ghira, angry at Sun missing his point. "Of course, the textbooks are important, but they only explain so much!"

Ghira got up to stretch his legs and walked over to a window where he was able to get a view of the city below them, lit up with paper lanterns lined up on all the store fronts. He imagined what the lives of those people were like in the city and the slums beneath them.

"They don't explain why Faunus discrimination is still a problem to this day. They don't explain why terrorists attacked Beacon. We're expecting these students to trust their leaders blindly, and yet when those leaders send their followers to die, all the students get is questions with no answers. I don't want Haven Academy to be just a place to train huntsmen. I envision it can be something greater."

"Well then," said Qrow, getting up and patting Ghira on the shoulder. "I think you just figured out your speech. Get writing, pal."

"But what if they don't see my vision? What if more professors walk out-"

"Stop. You know what your problem is? You are caring too much about what other people think. Remember: You're the headmaster now. Your word is final, and anyone who doesn't like it can go..." Qrow was about to use a vulgar term when he noticed Kali had re-entered the room, causing him to hold back the gutter mouth. "...somewhere else."

"You know what?" said Ghira. "You're right! I am the headmaster, and it's my school!"

Ghira went right back to the desk, took a large sip of his tea, and immediately got to work writing his speech. Kali stood by him with more tea and extra pens in case he needed them.

#

It was now the first day of school at Haven Academy. The front courtyard was jam-packed with returning students, all wondering what exactly they were returning to. Amongst the returning students were the other members of Team SSSN, who were just as confused as everyone else was.

"Any word on who the council chose to be headmaster?" asked Neptune.

"Not a clue," said Scarlet. "Everything so far has been pure gossip. I heard even the staff members have been replaced."

"I do not have a good feeling about this," said Sage. "I think it was a mistake to come back."

"Well," said Neptune, "it's not like we have anything else to do. It's either come to school and actually learn something, or stay at home twiddling our thumbs."

"We could try to run away to another kingdom like Sun did," said Scarlet. "Speaking of, rumor is there was some major attacks that took place on Menagerie involving the White Fang."

"What attacks?" said Neptune, worried that something horrible happened to Sun. "How bad was it? Any casualties?"

"Would you relax?" said Sage. "I'm sure Sun is fine!"

"Easy for you to say! You've seen what the White Fang did to Beacon! Remember how Yang lost her arm because of them? For all we know Sun could be-"

"Right behind you!" said a familiar annoying voice. Team SSSN turned around to see their leader alive and well, standing around like it was no big deal.

"Sun!" exclaimed Neptune. "You're back!"

"Darn right I am!" said Sun. "It's great to see you-"

Neptune suddenly punched Sun in the face, hard enough to knock him to the floor. Scarlet and Sage were surprised at Neptune sucker punching Sun like that.

"OW!" yelled Sun. "What the hell was that for?"

"For ditching us for nearly a year!" yelled Neptune, tears nearly coming out of his eyes. "We're supposed to be bros and you left us with nothing but a simple 'catch ya later' and you never contacted us again!"

"What was I supposed to do? Call you? I can't call outside kingdoms because the CCT fell, remember?"

"Ever heard of writing letters? That's still a thing, you know!"

"I think he was too busy trying to impress Blake to remember us," said Scarlet.

"That's not true!" replied Sun, getting back to his feet. "I followed Blake to make sure she was all right!"

"And it has nothing to do with your obvious crush on her?"

"Okay, maybe part of the reason was because I have feelings for her, but it was mostly to help her get through a difficult time!"

"So you spent most of the year trying to cheer up Blake?" asked Neptune, still upset about Sun ditching him for someone else.

"It wasn't that simple! We ran into some deep trouble back in Menagerie. I even got stabbed for it!"

"Then the rumors about Menagerie were true?" said Scarlet. "This I've just got to hear!"

Sun explained to his team everything he and Blake went through since Beacon fell, including all the events in Menagerie and ending with the battle of Haven a few nights ago.

"And that brings us to today," concluded Sun.

"Sounds like you had quite the adventure," said Neptune. "Too bad we couldn't be a part of it!"

"Neptune," said Sage, "you'd be freaking out the moment they came across the Leviathan. We're glad things worked out for you and the Faunus, Sun; can't say the same about Haven and Mistral though."

"What do you mean?" said Sun. "This academy is still standing, isn't it?"

"But after what's happened these past several months, that might not be for long."

"Yo SSSN!" shouted someone in the crowd. The team turned to see Reese Chloris and her teammates in Team ABRN heading their way.

"Hello there, Team ABRN!" said Scarlet. "Look what the cat Faunus dragged in!"

"Oh, hey Sun! Welcome back, dude!"

"You're finally back from your excursion in Menagerie," said Arslan, the stoic team leader. "Unfortunately, you picked the wrong time to come back."

"Have things really gotten that bad?" asked Sun.

"I guess being stuck on that island, you have no idea what's happened since Beacon fell. To put it lightly...this academy's reputation has reached the bottom of the barrel."

"Why is that?"

"It started right after Beacon fell," said Neptune. "The people were outraged that the person who caused the attack was a student from Haven Academy."

"You mean Cinder? They do know she was never really a student here, right?"

"That was precisely the problem," said Arslan. "Cinder and her cronies were billed as from our academy, yet nobody knew them at all. People think Professor Lionheart had a hand in all this."

"I don't believe that, though," replied Reese. "I mean, the headmaster working for terrorists? Sounds like one of those whack conspiracy theories, man!"

"But that wasn't the only problem involving Lionheart," said Sage. "Shortly after we returned from Beacon, our headmaster specifically ordered all undergraduate huntsmen to be banned from taking missions. He claimed it was all part of the safety issues with involving students."

"That doesn't sound too bad," replied Sun.

"Not on paper," said Arslan, "but when you've got a sharp increase in Grimm outbreaks happening across the kingdom because of how the way people reacted to the Beacon attack? Suddenly the number of eligible huntsmen gets spread too thin."

"And from I've heard through the grapevine," said Scarlet, "the huntsmen that were sent on those missions? None of them came back, including some of this school's professors."

"That's when the rumors surrounding Haven became more widespread," said Neptune. "People started to think Lionheart was sabotaging this academy, and when that rumor got around, the professors started leaving in droves, trying to distance themselves as much as possible."

"And now that Lionheart is suddenly stepping down," said Arslan, "everyone here is either getting suspicious or paranoid. Either way, some of the students are planning to riot if we don't start getting answers."

"You don't really mean that, do you?" asked Sun. "I mean, I know Lionheart was a bad headmaster, but starting a riot isn't really going to benefit anyone!"

"Could you blame them, though?" said Sage. "A lot of the students feel like they've been manipulated and lied to. Nobody sees this place as an academy anymore. It's more of a glorified propaganda camp."

Sun looked around and saw his teammates and Team ABRN making the same dejected faces. None of them had any faith in the academy anymore; if a riot truly were to break out, they would either join in to take down the academy, or leave to avoid being part of the collateral damage. Either way, none of them were in high enough spirits to fight for Haven Academy, and the many other students around them felt the same way. Always being the most optimistic, Sun tried to lift everyone's spirits and instill some hope for their school.

"Okay," said Sun, "so Haven's had a major setback thanks to our former headmaster. On the bright side, I guarantee our new headmaster is going to be awesome! Hand-picked him myself!"

"Seriously?" asked Reese. "You know the dude?"

"Yep! It's none other than Blake's dad: Ghira Belladonna!"

Sun expected everyone to be impressed by the news, but instead was met with a lukewarm and confused response.

"Ghira Belladonna?" said Arslan. "Wasn't he the leader of the White Fang?"

"Leader of the _good_ version, not the bad one that attacked Beacon."

Sun could see that wasn't enough to satisfy the others. He noticed Bolin from Team ARBN mumbling something under his breath.

"You've got something to say, pal?"

"Uh, it's not that I hate the Faunus," said Bolin, scratching the back of his head, "but having one who lead a terrorist group as our headmaster? That doesn't-"

"First of all," interrupted Sun, "he wasn't the leader when the White Fang became terrorists! Second, the dude has plenty of wisdom when it comes to fighting!"

"I'm sure he's a nice guy," said Sage, "but it doesn't change the fact his name is synonymous with the White Fang in this kingdom."

"I just said he had nothing to do with them!" said Sun, getting agitated that not even his friends had faith for the new headmaster.

"That's not what a lot of these people are going to believe," said Arslan.

"Sounds like you're just trying to get on his good side you can date his daughter," said Scarlet.

"Not everything I do revolves around Blake!" yelled Sun.

"No, just most of it."

"Look, Haven needs a strong leader more than ever, and I think Mister Belladonna is our best option. A lot of people in Menagerie respect the guy!"

"But this isn't Menagerie," said Arslan. "He's not going to be surrounded by other like-minded Faunus. He's going to be leading teenagers who are already on edge about what's been happening to Haven."

Sun was usually not one to have an outburst, so instead he turned his back to everyone and kept to himself.

"I would think you guys would support the idea," said Sun, "but I guess I can't even trust my old friends."

"No need to pout, dude," said Reese. "We're just telling you the truth is all."

"But you could at least show a little more faith!"

As annoyed as Neptune still was for Sun leaving his side for so long, he still considered Sun his best friend, and it was clear Sun needed someone to reassure him. Neptune stood in front of Sun to get his attention.

"I have in faith in your decision, Sun," said Neptune. "I mean, usually you come up with some terrible ideas, but if you're really serious about this one...it has to actually be good."

Sun smiled and gave Neptune a fist-bump. "Thanks, dude."

"Heads up," said Sage. "Someone is coming out."

All the students turned their attention to the head building where Qrow stepped out onto the balcony.

"All right everyone, listen up!" said Qrow. "In case some of you weren't aware, Haven Academy is going through some staff changes, including a new headmaster. Introducing the new headmaster of Haven Academy: Ghira Belladonna!"

 _"All right Mister Belladonna!"_ thought Sun. _"Knock this one out of the park!"_

The students remained mostly silent as Ghira Belladonna stepped out with his speech in hand. Ghira cleared his throat and looked out to see the many faces of the students he was going to lead. He could clearly tell most of them were either unimpressed or already questioning why he was here.

"I notice some of you are wondering why the former White Fang leader is now head of a school for huntsmen," said Ghira. "To be honest...I'm not sure if I belong up here myself."

Sun felt like he was stabbed through the chest by Ilia again after hearing those words, causing him to grasp his chest.

 _"Why would you say that?"_ thought Sun. _"You're supposed to convince people you should be here!"_

"And that's what I'm here to be: Honest and forthcoming."

 _"Okay, it was somewhat of a joke!"_ thought Sun, breathing a small sigh of relief. _"Not the best way to start, but not a total disaster!"_

"As huntsmen, you are already aware you are trained to defend the people from Grimm. But there are more issues the people of Mistral...people all around the world...are facing than just Grimm. I know some of you may not want to hear it, but I feel I must bring up the discrimination against the Faunus."

Sun could hear some students nearby moan and roll their eyes, clearly not in the mood to be lectured and talked down to.

"I created the White Fang to combat Faunus discrimination, but my attempts were ultimately in vain. Years ago, I let Sienna Khan take over the White Fang, who thought violence and aggression was the answer to solving the racial issues Faunus are still suffering to this day. For a time, it seemed to be working. However, the solutions were only short-term, and in the long run, the White Fang's ideology was changed from fighting discrimination to causing terrorism. Last year, the White Fang participated in causing the downfall of Beacon Academy, and just days ago, Haven Academy was attacked by the White Fang, led by their new self-appointed leader, Adam Taurus. Thankfully, Adam Taurus' plan to destroy Haven Academy was stopped, thanks to not just huntsmen, but Faunus who realized they couldn't stand aside and allow Adam to speak for them. Sadly, had the Faunus such as myself not stood aside and remain silent all this time, the White Fang would not become the shell of its former self it has become today."

 _"Okay Ghira,"_ thought Sun, _"you might want to chill on the self-deprecating! You want people to believe you're a GOOD leader, not a bad one!"_

"The White Fang weren't alone in Beacon's downfall, however. They were caused by a terrorist syndicate who originated within the Mistral Kingdom, which is my next concern. Mistral is a tale of two kingdoms. For some people, it's a kingdom rich in culture and art. For others, it's a series of slums where crime and corruption are rampant, and we all turn a blind eye because we're not comfortable in knowing this is happening right under our noses. That blind eye is how a syndicate was able to get past even the toughest of security, and cause the downfall of Beacon. To this day, we still cannot communicate with our brothers-in-arms who are putting their lives on the line every day to restore the prestigious academy, all because we refused to acknowledge the truth!"

As Ghira was making his speech, Sun was scanning the audience to see their reactions, and he could tell the students weren't liking what they were hearing. The more Sun heard Ghira talk, the more he felt Ghira was screwing up and making everyone feel worse.

 _"Whatever you say next, please let it be something positive!"_

"But it wasn't just this syndicate that had a hand in destroying Beacon. They were assisted by Haven's former headmaster, Leo Lionheart, who acted as a double agent to ensure Haven suffered the same fate. Sadly, this has led to the deaths of many of our finest huntsmen and huntresses, and although Lionheart has paid the ultimate price for his cowardice, the damage he has caused has left a permanent scar on this academy and the world at large!"

Confirming that Lionheart was truly a traitor caused a lot of the students to get antsy, with some of them started yelling obscenities. Sun felt like he needed to run up there and stop Ghira from talking before he completely bombed. Despite how angry the students were getting, Ghira remained calm and continued his speech.

"I can see the looks of disgust and shock amongst you. Some of you even decided to make yourselves heard, and I understand. The truth is not comfortable to hear, but we cannot move forward as huntsmen...as people...without acknowledging it, and learning from it. As your new headmaster, you will be more than just trained to defeat Grimm, or win tournaments against fellow huntsmen. I want you to learn the real history of Faunus and human relations, so that both sides can work together to improve them, instead of using it to drive us apart like Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus attempted. I want you to go out and learn the social issues affecting those in the slums, so we can prevent terrorist cells from forming and causing another academy's downfall. You will be more than just huntsmen hired to slay Grimm; you will be heroes of the people.

"As for myself, I will do my part to restore Haven Academy's reputation. I hear your frustrations loud and clear, and you have every right to voice them. You deserve a school where the staff aren't manipulating you to serve their own goals. You deserve a school that isn't conspiring with the enemy. When people think of Haven Academy, they should believe it's the school where our next heroes are born, not the school that sends innocent children to their deaths."

Suddenly a few of the students started yelling again, but this time in support of what Ghira was saying. Sun looked around and noticed some of the students having a renewed look of determination. It appeared that Ghira was starting to win them over.

"But I can't do this alone. No one person can turn an entire academy around on their own. That's why I encourage you all to help your fellow citizens outside the classroom. If you find a Faunus being discriminated against, or if they are committing the discrimination themselves, do not be silent. If you see corruption anywhere you go, whether it's committed by an officer, a council member, a common street thug, or even a member of the Haven Academy staff, do not be silent. But let me make this clear: This is NOT a call to attack humans in the name of Faunus rights, nor is this a call to anarchy against those of a more affluent class, or the people who govern our kingdom. I will not tolerate the use of unnecessary violence in the name of justice and self-righteousness. This is the start of a new age for Haven Academy, and I need all of you, our future protectors of this world, to make this an age we can be proud of! For Haven, for Mistral, and for all human and Faunus-kind! So, I end this with a simple proposal: Are you willing to accept me as your leader?"

As soon as Ghira finished, everyone gathered at the academy gave Ghira a loud, thunderous ovation. There wasn't a person standing amongst the crowd that stood silent; everyone was either clapping or cheering for their support of Haven's new headmaster.

"Do I know how to pick a leader or what?" said Sun, feeling a strong sense of satisfaction with the positive reaction for Ghira.

"I have to admit, Sun," said Sage, "you were right. He does look like the right man to lead Haven Academy."

"I'm not sure how well he'll lead us," said Arslan, "but considering what our last headmaster did, at least we know he's honest about his intentions."

"For sure!" said Reese. "I can't believe he actually called out Lionheart on his actions! This dude definitely has some...ah, you know."

After wrapping up his speech, Ghira returned inside where Kali gave him a big hug, proud of her husband sparking a new life into the academy. Ilia and Qrow were also happy to see the students willing to give Ghira a chance to make things right.

"This academy is going to be in good hands," said Kali.

"I hope so," said Ghira.

"I know so," said Qrow, "and as soon as I talk to Ozpin, I'm sure he'll think the same thing."

"Thank you, Qrow. I don't know about you, but I could go for a drink right about now."

"As long as you're buying, I know just the place."

As Qrow and Ghira left to celebrate Ghira's successful speech, Ilia looked back towards the crowd of students. Despite Ghira's past, it seemed all of them were willing to support Ghira and help in any way they can. Being close to their age and remembering what Blake had told her about finding allies, Ilia had the perfect idea of what she wanted to do.

#

Ghira and Kali were working that night in the headmaster's office, going over the student schedules and lesson plans. Although the start of the semester was going to be chaotic with the new staff in charge, he didn't want the students to already start slouching and fall behind on their studies. As they were double checking to make sure all the classes were lined up and organized, they heard a knocking on their door.

"Who could be here at a time like this?" said Kali.

"I'll answer it," said Ghira. "Stay back just in case."

Qrow had informed Ghira about how the council wasn't happy with him taking up the headmaster position, and considering the kind of criminals that lurked in Mistral's underground, it wasn't crazy to say they might send someone to come after him or his family. Him and his wife being military trained, however, they were more than ready to deal with wannabe assassins like the ones who attacked them in Menagerie.

Ghira slowly opened the door, and was surprised to see it was only Ilia.

"Oh, hello Ilia. Come in; is everything all right?"

"I'm fine," said Ilia, entering their office. "Can I speak to you and Kali for a moment?"

"Of course, Ilia," said Kali. "Is something wrong?"

"Remember when I said I wanted to lead our new brotherhood?"

"Oh, crap!" said Ghira, knowing he forgot something. "I've been so caught up with this headmaster stuff, I completely forgot we still haven't picked a leader, or even a new name!"

"We'll figure something out," said Kali. "Anyway, Ilia, you're still not considering being the leader, are you?"

"I am," said Ilia. "I've been thinking about what I want to do, and I have an idea of how we can make this group better than what the White Fang had become, but I need Mister Belladonna's help."

"You need my help?" said Ghira. "How so?"

"Mister Belladonna...I want to join Haven Academy."


	5. Fixing Bumblebee

_The Fall of Beacon_

It happened all within a few seconds, if not less than one. Yang had charged in to save her partner Blake, only for Adam to suddenly cut her down with one swing of his blade. What little aura Yang had left kept her from bleeding to death before being taken to the evacuation site. She barely had the strength to remain conscious after that; everything else from that night was like a blur, but she remembered one thing clearly: The last time she ever saw Blake.

Yang was being put on a stretcher to be carried off to a medical ship, while a couple of EMTs were helping Blake get back on her feet. Yang expected Blake to run to her side as she was being carried off, but instead Blake just stood there.

 _"What are you doing, Blake?"_ thought Yang, not even having the strength to speak up.

At first Yang assumed maybe the EMTs were the ones preventing Blake from getting on that ship with her. Then before Yang knew it, Blake suddenly turned and ran, causing some of the other students who stayed behind to call out to her wondering what she was doing.

 _"Where are you going, Blake?"_ thought Yang, trying to lift her remaining arm up to reach out to Blake. _"Come back! I need you!"_

By the time Yang was placed in the airship and was being hooked to several machines to keep her alive, Blake was out of sight. The hatch of the ship closed as Yang could feel her consciousness slipping.

#

Despite already talking about her prosthetic arm when Yang reunited with the team, Ruby couldn't help but become obsessed with wanting to know more, as if Yang's arm was some fancy high tech weapon. After their celebration feast, Ruby decided to bring up Yang's arm again in conversation.

"So what else can your arm do?" asked Ruby. "Can it shoot flames? Lasers? Deadly toxic gas?"

"I doubt it," replied Yang, holding her prosthetic arm up. "If it could do any of that, I think I would have found out by now. Besides, I don't need fancy tech like that anyway."

"But of course you do! That would be like saying I shouldn't attach a sniper rifle to Crescent Rose!"

Ruby moved to where Yang was sitting to get a closer look at Yang's arm, nearly drooling at all the ideas she had running through her head about the kinds of weapons she can turn Yang's arm into.

"At least let me make some modifications to it!" said Ruby, getting close to grabbing Yang's arm.

"No way," said Yang, pulling her arm away from Ruby. "The last thing I want is my arm to malfunction because of you messing around."

"Just ONE mod, please!" pleaded Ruby, grasping her hands and creating her best puppy-dog expression. "Nothing fancy! I'll just do something basic like a recoil resistant ballistics chamber!"

"I'll tell you what. You repair my motorcycle, and I'll let you modify my arm however you want."

"Fix your bike? But we're going to Atlas in a few days! Can't you wait until we get there to do it?"

"Bumblebee is too important for me to neglect. That would be like me telling you to stop trying to fix Crescent Rose every other day."

"That's different! Crescent Rose is my weapon! I always need to maintain it! You barely even use your motorcycle!"

"Sorry Ruby, but this arm isn't another toy for you to take apart."

"Fine!" pouted Ruby. "Could you at least show me how you use that rocket detachment one more time?"

"If it will finally get you to stop obsessing over it!"

Yang stood up and held her arm out towards the wall. Just as she was about to detach her arm, it suddenly occurred to Yang what detaching the arm plus Ruby's semblance would equal.

"Wait a second," said Yang. "You were going to snatch it the moment it hit the wall, weren't you?"

"What?" said Ruby. "No I wasn't!"

"You totally were! I may be blonde and strong, but I'm not dumb, Ruby! Now either confess or I'll-"

"KYAH!" yelled Ruby, jumping on Yang's back and wrapping her legs around Yang's waist. "Give me that arm!"

"I'm about to give you a knuckle sandwich!" said Yang, throwing Ruby to the ground and grappling with her little sister.

"I am so glad my sister isn't like this," remarked Weiss, sitting back and letting the sisters duke it out to get it out of their system.

After placing her knees on Ruby's shoulders to prevent her from getting up, Yang detached her arm and held it high as Ruby kept flailing underneath her sister. Yang stuck her tongue out and waved her metallic arm around to mock Ruby's inability to obtain her prize.

While Weiss sat back and was mildly amused by Ruby and Yang's shenanigans, Blake was gripping her pants while looking up at Yang's arm, wishing Yang wouldn't wave it around to bring so much attention to it. With Ruby and Yang's grappling contest not looking to end anytime soon, Blake decided to stand up and head back to her room. Amid teasing Ruby, Yang noticed Blake leaving.

"Something wrong, Blake?" asked Yang.

"I'm just really tired," said Blake. "It's been a long night. See you in the morning."

Yang wasn't sure if Blake was serious or not. They all knew Blake's old habit of wanting to ditch the group to be alone, but it was also getting late, especially since everyone had plans the next day. If something was bothering Blake, now was likely not the best time to address it.

#

Blake was sitting on the edge of her bed, grasping a pillow in her arms and trying to prevent herself from crying. Tonight was supposed to be a great night for Blake, overcoming Adam and the White Fang and finally reuniting with her closest friends, but instead she felt guilty and ashamed anytime she laid her eyes on Yang with her new arm. Every time she looked at Yang's new accessory, it brought back her memories of the night she last saw Yang.

Blake could vividly remember when the EMTs finally arrived to treat the huntsmen and huntresses who tried to save Beacon. As the EMTs were trying to temporarily fix Blake's wound and help her stand up, another team came to cart Yang off to an airship for emergency treatment. Blake watched as a barely conscious Yang was strapped to a gurney and put on a stretcher.

"We're taking your friend to the nearest hospital," said one of the EMTs. "Come with us and we'll check on your injuries."

The EMTs were going to escort Blake to the same ship as Yang, but rather than go with them, Blake actively pulled away from the EMTs.

"Ma'am, we don't have a lot of time. You need to come with us."

With Blake not saying a word in response, the EMTs assumed she was experiencing shell shock and needed to be forced onto the ship. As the EMTs approached Blake, only for Blake to suddenly turn around and run.

She didn't know where she was running, but in her mind, it was all she can do. She needed to get as far away from Yang and all the others who were there yelling for Blake to come back as she possibly could.

Blake was so lost in her thoughts that it took her a few moments to realize someone was knocking on her bedroom door.

"Who is it?" asked Blake.

"It's me, dear," said Kali. "Can we talk?"

Blake wiped the tears in her eyes and put the pillow back on the bed. "Sure, mom."

Kali came in and stood close by the doorway. Blake was worried she did something to make her mother feel uneasy to come in.

"I wanted to let you know," said Kali, "after I'm done shopping with Weiss and Ilia, we're going to discuss what to do now that the White Fang is being disbanded."

"Oh, right!" said Blake, somewhat caught by surprise. "The White Fang! Of course; thank you for reminding me."

"Blake, did you honestly forget? You've been talking about it before we even arrived at Haven."

"I didn't forget! It's just..."

As important as it was for Blake to deal with the rebirth of the White Fang now that Adam had lost his power and influence, her strained relationship with Yang was eating away at her to the point where she needed to fix that here and now before anything else.

"There's something I need to do before I can focus on what's left of the White Fang."

"It's about Yang, isn't it?" said Kali. "Trying to patch things up before you head to Atlas?"

Blake nodded. Kali was aware of Blake's situation from the stories Sun had told Kali of Team RWBY. Sensing her daughter was upset about having to approach Yang, Kali decided to sit down next to Blake on the bed.

"I understand. In fact, I was hoping you'd do it before you left."

"But what if we don't?" asked Blake.

"Blake, you have to make up with her at some point."

"I want to mom, but what if...what if Yang doesn't?"

"I'm certain Yang is more than willing to, Blake. She seemed to be in good spirits tonight."

"Yang didn't seem like she was mad tonight, but I just know deep down she resents me!"

Blake covered her face with her hands, not wanting to cry in front of her mother.

"What if she refuses to forgive me? What if she thinks I don't deserve to be her friend anymore?"

"That's ridiculous," said Kali, rubbing her daughter's back to calm her down. "If Yang is anything like how you and Sun described her, I'm sure she'll understand what you had to do. You have nothing to worry about, Blake. I promise."

Blake still had her doubts, but she was somewhat reassured by her mother's comforting words.

"Thanks, mom," replied Blake.

#

Yang had spent the past couple of days exploring nearly the entire main city of Mistral to find the parts and tools she needed to fix her motorcycle. Back in a more urban kingdom like Vale, Yang could have easily gone to a local bike shop and get everything she needed, but since motor vehicles were very rarely - if ever - used in the Mistral Kingdom, trying to find everything she needed was like an extreme scavenger hunt.

After finally getting everything she needed - at least with what little the kingdom had to offer - she returned to the lodge with a box full of junk and headed to the outdoor deck where she first arrived and parked her Bumblebee. She dropped the box on the ground and looked over her bike, stroking the metal frame gently as she noticed all the little dings and scratches caused by riding on the rough terrain.

"I haven't treated you the best I should, Bumblebee," said Yang. "Hopefully today I can make up for it. I know these aren't exactly top-quality parts, but I promise you're going to feel brand new!"

As Yang sat down and rummaged through her box of junk, with hardly anyone else in the lodge, Blake decided now was the best time to talk to Yang and finally put the riff between them to rest. Blake took a deep breath and stepped out onto the deck.

"Hey Yang," said Blake, trying to sound like her normal stoic self. Yang leaned her head all the way back to look up at Blake.

"Oh, hey Blake," said Yang. "Something going on?"

"Just wanted to see how you were coming along with your bike."

"It's worse than I thought," said Yang, going back to sorting through her parts. "I never considered that dirt roads are a hell of a lot different than city streets. Bumblebee was never meant to take such abuse."

"It doesn't look that bad," said Blake, doing a quick look over of Bumblebee.

"To the untrained eye the bike seems fine, but when you take a closer look, that's when you notice all the faults."

Yang took out her lug wrench and pointed to one of her tires, rotating the tire to highlight all the scratch marks you could only see well from a certain angle.

"My wheels have scratches all over them. It would have been only a matter of time before they got slashed to ribbons. Thankfully, I found a guy who knew a guy who had some spare tires on hand. Unfortunately, the price was marked up compared to Vale's prices, but beggars can't be choosers, you know? Better to replace them now before I wind up in an accident and lose another one of my limbs."

"Yeah," said Blake, her voice trailing off. "Don't want that to happen."

Blake couldn't believe how nonchalant Yang was about bringing up the loss of her arm. Yang may have a weird sense of humor, but never did it involve such dark jokes like that. Blake wondered if Yang was secretly always like that, or if perhaps this was Yang's attempt of coping with her disability. Blake stood back and watched as Yang pulled the worn-out tire off her bike and was about to remove the tire from the hub. Rather than use one of her tools, Yang gripped the edge of the hub inside the tire and started pulling.

"Don't you need a lever or something to do that?" asked Blake.

"Normally, yes," said Yang. "But I'm a bit short on tools, and besides, my new arm is a lot stronger than people realize."

With just the right amount of force, Yang was able to yank the hub out of the tire, effectively removing the tire with her bare hands.

"And to think Ruby thought this thing needs mods!" said Yang, flexing her metallic muscle.

Seeing how Yang was not going to stop talking about her new contraption, Blake decided to try making small talk to feel more comfortable about it.

"Maybe it could use an upgrade or two," said Blake. "I mean, surely you've upgraded your bike over the years."

"That's true," said Yang. "To be honest? I just didn't want Ruby messing with this thing. Her Crescent Rose wasn't exactly working right out of the box; I can tell stories for days about the many malfunctions that thing had before she perfected it."

"You'll have to tell me some time," said Blake, turning around to go back inside.

"Leaving so soon?" asked Yang.

"I'm just getting some water. It's hotter out here than I thought."

"Could you get me a bottle while you're at it?"

"Sure."

As soon as Blake went back inside and was out of Yang's sight, she banged her fist against the wall.

 _"I can't do it!"_ thought Blake. _"Every time I see that damn arm..."_

Blake went into the kitchen and took out a bottle of water to drink it right away and clear up her throat.

 _"Maybe I should forget about this. My mom was right after all; Yang doesn't seem to hold a grudge against me. Maybe she's already over it, and if Yang is over it, then there's no point in talking about it, right?"_

Blake tried to come up with a logical explanation as to why apologizing was unnecessary, but every time she tried to think of an excuse, she swore she could hear a voice telling her to run away from her problem just like she did that night in Beacon; just like she did with every problem she ever faced.

 _"No. I can't run away like a coward again. I must do this. I need to properly reconcile with Yang so we can finally put this behind us!"_

Blake grabbed another bottle of cold water from the fridge and walked back outside, just in time to see Yang had completed replacing the tires on her motorcycle.

"Check it out!" said Yang, rotating the new wheels on her bike. "Fresh tires! My bike is looking better already!"

"It sure is," said Blake, handing Yang her bottle of water. Yang unscrewed the cap and took a quick sip for herself before pouring half of it on her metal arm.

"What are you doing?" asked Blake.

"Cooling off my arm," said Yang. "I haven't realized this until I came here, but when you've got a metal arm exposed to the blazing sun for long periods of time, it tends to get hot, like a car roof on a Summer day hot. Care to guess when I found out that factoid?"

"I'm going to say when you nearly burned yourself?"

"Bingo!" said Yang, flashing Blake a metal thumbs up. "Nearly burned my forehead because of it!"

Yang patted her arm to make sure it had properly cooled off, then went back to digging around her box of junk. There was no way Blake was going to avoid not having to talk about Yang's prosthetic arm, so she decided to try and get it over with.

"Yang?" said Blake. "Do you ever...um..."

"Ever what?" said Yang.

Blake took another big sip of water to clear her throat, but it did little to help her problem. "I mean...about your arm..."

Yang stopped rummaging through her box and stood up to face Blake. "What are you trying to say, Blake?"

"I'm sorry!" said Blake, turning away from Yang. "What I'm trying to say is...well..."

"Oh, I get it now. You're wondering if I...do nasty things with it!"

Blake was taken aback by Yang's statement. Apparently, Yang didn't quite understand what Blake was really trying to ask.

"Nasty things?" replied Blake.

"Oh c'mon, Blake! Don't act as if I don't know what you were thinking! I've skimmed through some of those Ninja of Love books you used to have!"

"Oh God, no!" said Blake, suddenly mortified with Yang taking this conversation in an entirely different direction. "That wasn't what I was going to ask at all!"

"You're telling me you weren't even the slightest bit curious?"

"Well, now I am because you're bringing it up! But that wasn't what I was going to ask!"

"Then what WERE you going to ask?"

Blake tried to get the truth out, but suddenly it didn't feel right after Yang decided to fill her head with some lustful thoughts.

"On second thought, never mind," said Blake. "Just drop the subject."

"Fine," said Yang. "We can discuss it some other time..." Yang held her metal hand by Blake's head and made some lewd gestures with her fingers. "Like after dark!"

"Are you done fixing your bike yet?" asked Blake, wanting to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible.

"Not yet," said Yang, returning to her bike. "I want to give my baby a full tune up, so I'm also going to check on the oil."

Yang placed a pan underneath her bike, then sat down and tried to unscrew the oil plug with her wrench. Blake could tell from the way Yang was grunting that she was having a hard time trying to unscrew the plug.

"Do you need help?" asked Blake.

"Nope!" said Yang. "I just need to apply a little more force and-"

The plug suddenly broke off and caused the oil to immediately jet out of Bumblebee, causing some of the oil to splash on Yang's pants. Yang immediately got up to avoid getting covered in more oil, but the damage was already done.

"Dammit!" yelled Yang, trying to wipe some of the oil off with a towel. "These are the only pair of pants I had! Son of a...sometimes I wonder if Bumblebee is even worth fixing!"

Yang kept swearing under her breath while she was trying to get more towels to try and clean as much of her pants as possible.

 _"She puts so much effort into fixing her bike,"_ thought Blake, _"and yet it seems to just frustrate her to do so. I wonder..."_

"Is it worth it?" asked Blake.

"Huh?" said Yang, throwing her dirty towels back in the box. "Is what worth it?"

"Fixing your bike. Why do you go through all this trouble of fixing it?"

"Um...isn't it obvious?"

"Not to these untrained eyes," replied Blake. "It looks like you're trying to fix it for the sake of fixing it, even though you don't really want to because it just causes you more problems than what it's worth."

"Are you serious, Blake? You think just because I get mad about it a couple of times, I don't actually want to fix Bumblebee?"

"Then why are you trying to fix Bumblebee?"

"Because I love it, that's why!"

Yang got on her bike and placed her hands on the handlebars, remembering the first time she got on top of Bumblebee and knew this was the vehicle for her.

"I've had this bike since I was thirteen. It's almost become a part of me. Heck, I even modeled my new arm after it!" Yang smiled and bent down to pat the front end of her bike, resting her head on the dashboard. "I can't imagine my life without Bumblebee by my side!"

"But what if it were to break down and fall apart?" said Blake. "What if it just...didn't want to be fixed?"

"Well, I've had my ups and downs with my bike, of course. There are days where I didn't even want to see this thing. But back on Patch Island, when I thought I'd never get to ride my bike again..."

Yang sat up and adjusted the side mirrors to catch a reflection of herself sitting on her bike.

"That's when I realized how much I loved Bumblebee. I love feeling the wind in my hair; I love the feeling of owning and maintaining something that belongs to me; and it's a hell of a lot better than walking! A blown tire here, an oil stain there...I'll gladly overlook them to keep her by my side!"

Seeing Yang have such a strong connection to her bike brought a smile to Blake's face.

"I guess Bumblebee really does mean a lot to you," said Blake.

"It sure does," said Yang. As much as she loved reminiscing about her times riding Bumblebee, she still needed to get back to repairing it. Yang got off her bike and took out the fresh oil her bike needed.

"You've really gone out of your way to fix it."

"Like I said, I can't imagine my life without it."

Blake was waiting for Yang to say more, but Yang went right back to focusing on her motorcycle.

"I mean," said Blake, "you've really put effort into this. You must care deeply about Bumblebee."

"Absolutely," said Yang. "If I didn't care about it so much, I wouldn't have spent all day going to every shop possible just to find the most basic of parts. That's how important Bumblebee is."

With the oil now changed, Yang pulled out her wax and buffering equipment. The longer their conversation was going, the more Blake was losing her smile.

"So, if it wasn't important," said Blake, "you wouldn't be trying to fix it."

"Yeah," said Yang. "Isn't that obvious?"

Now Blake's smile was turning into a frown, not that Yang was noticing as she was putting all her attention into Bumblebee and missing all the hints Blake was trying to drop.

"It's kind of like a relationship, don't you think?" said Blake. "Despite all the bumps, if you really cared about someone, you'd try to fix it, right?"

"Of course," said Yang.

Yang rubbed wax all over her motorcycle frame and was putting together her buffer polisher. Frustrated that Yang either didn't know or didn't care what Blake was trying to imply, Blake snapped.

"What are you doing?" asked Blake.

"I'm buffering my bike," said Yang. "Got to make it look shiny and new!"

"I'm not talking about your damn bike! I'm talking about us!"

Surprised about Blake suddenly getting mad, Yang put her equipment down and stood up to face Blake.

"What's wrong with you, suddenly?" asked Yang.

"Ever since I came back, you've been acting like nothing is wrong between us! Like the last year wasn't a big deal! Yang, if you're mad at me, just say it! I know what a terrible friend I've been! I know I should never have run away from you like that! I abandoned you!"

Blake grabbed Yang's metal wrist and held up the arm she was sick of having to look at.

"And I'm the reason you have this damn metal contraption attached to you!" yelled Blake, tears forming in her eyes before throwing Yang's arm back down. "So why are you acting like everything is suddenly okay between us?"

Yang frowned and turned her back to Blake, looking over the arm that caused Blake to get upset. The emotions that Yang had been keeping inside herself for nearly a year were starting to come out.

"That's why you really came out here," said Yang. "It was never about my bike; you want to talk about us. All right, Blake. Since you asked for it..."

Yang suddenly turned around and grabbed Blake's shirt with her metal arm, her lilac eyes now turned blood red anytime she got frustrated.

"Let's talk about US!"

Blake feared having to look at Yang the way she did, but knew this was exactly how Yang felt deep down, and remained still as to not agitate Yang further.

"To be honest, I was ready to give up on considering you a friend. With you not here with the rest of the team, I figured it was going to be Team "Rooie" or whatever name we'd have to come up with without you. But then lo and behold, you finally came back. Took you a long damn time, but hey, you're finally here!"

"Yang, I didn't-"

"CAN IT!" yelled Yang, forcing Blake a couple inches closer with her arm. "We've all heard your side of the story! You think you had it bad trying to deal with the White Fang and the guilt of abandoning your closest friends? Not to make light of your problems...but it's NOTHING compared to the feeling of actually BEING abandoned!"

Blake could feel Yang's arm trembling. In fact, Yang's entire body was shaking with rage. The last time Blake ever saw Yang this mad was when the day Beacon fell, and Yang tried to save Blake from Adam, only to end up in the state she was in now.

"Losing my arm was quite a bitch to say the least, but that wasn't the only thing I lost that night. I lost my entire damn team! Weiss was taken away from me because of her family. Ruby went off to Mistral without me, but at least she tried reaching out to me. But you, Blake...you didn't even TRY to make things right! You just ran off and I never saw you again!"

Blake cried and wanted to say sorry, but she knew it was pointless. There was no way Yang was ever going to accept an apology from the way she sounded.

"And you know what's really messed up?" asked Yang, drawing Blake even closer. "This isn't even the first time this had happened! My own mother did the exact same thing to me when I was just a baby! A BABY! First my real mother leaves...then my second mother is gone...and then I lose my entire team! There I am, stuck in my home on Patch Island for weeks and months on end, feeling like everyone who ever meant something to me have abandoned me!"

Now Yang was on the verge of tears, having to remember all those days she felt alone and isolated, as if the world itself was trying to shut her away.

"Being alone for so long, it makes me think...was it me? Is it my fault my mother left? Was it my fault my team decided to not speak with me again? Or maybe...I just have the worst luck finding people who aren't worthless pieces of garbage!"

"Of course not!" said Blake. "Yang, none of this was-"

"But I digress!" said Yang, cutting Blake off, not wanting to hear another word. "Months on end, feeling like my life was over. No arm, no friend, barely a family to hang on to, and the nightmares...the God damn nightmares I had the night Beacon fell..."

Yang pulled in Blake closer, the two of them now literally meeting eye to eye.

"And most of it was because of YOU! Because I tried to save YOU! Because I decided to get involved with YOUR problems, caused by people YOU knew!"

 _"I knew it,"_ thought Blake. _"She really does hate me! She really doesn't want me here!"_

"You're right, Blake!" said Yang. "It is because of you I have to live with this contraption for the rest of my life! A constant reminder of the price I've paid for trying to be the best partner for you I can be! Now, to answer your question! You want to know why I was trying to act like everything was cool? Why I tried not to just jump up and lash out at you for making me feel this way for so long?"

Blake didn't respond, unsure of what to even say or do anymore. After a moment of silence between the two, Yang suddenly wrapped her arms around Blake and hugged her as tight as she could.

"Because I forgive you, you idiot!" said Yang, her voice cracking apart as she cried.

"Yang?" said Blake softly. "You...forgive me?"

"Yes, I forgive you! I hate that you decided to leave me, but I understand why you did it. I wish you didn't do it in the first place...I wish you could have stayed by my side when I needed you..."

Yang pulled her head up to face Blake, her eyes going back to her lilac color and covered in tears.

"But eventually you came back, despite how scared out of your mind you are about how I'd react or if that Adam coward will come after me. Let that son of a bitch try and take another arm or leg away from me. I'll gladly keep fighting for you, partner...because you're worth having by my side."

Blake wrapped her arms around Yang and hugged her back.

"Yang, I'm sorry!" cried Blake. "I'm so-"

"I know," said Yang. "But like I said, you came back to make things right. That's a hell of a lot better than what some people I know decided to do."

Blake didn't need to have it spelled out for her to know who Yang was referring to.

"Yang?" said Blake. "Could you be honest with me?"

"About what?"

"What did happen to your mother down there?"

Yang suddenly stopped crying and let go of Blake, her eyes about to turn red just at the thought of having to think about Raven.

"I'd rather not talk about it," replied Yang.

Yang picked up her buffering equipment and went to work putting the finishing touches on her motorcycle. Blake didn't say another word, simply standing by and watching Yang fix her bike.

Once the buffering was finished, Yang gave Bumblebee one last look over before declaring the repair job complete.

"Looks like Bumblebee is back to normal," said Yang.

"Glad that's over with," said Blake, turning to leave.

"Blake, wait!"

Blake stopped and turned back to Yang, wondering what she wanted now.

"You doing anything right now?" asked Yang.

"I guess not?" said Blake. "Is there something you needed?"

"I'm going to test out Bumblebee. You want to come with?"

Blake didn't have any concrete plans after reconciling with Yang other than possibly discussing the White Fang issues with her family. She figured with everyone getting some rare downtime after all they've been through, it wouldn't hurt to spend the rest of the day hanging out with her partner.

"Sure, replied Blake.

Yang took her motorcycle to the front of the lodge. Blake sat behind Yang and wrapped her arms around Yang's waist as Yang revved up her bike, sounding good as new.

"Hold on real tight, okay?" said Yang.

"Where are we going, anyway?" asked Blake.

"Anywhere the two of us can be alone."

"To do what, exactly?"

Yang turned back to Blake and smiled. "Whatever your heart desires."

Blake smiled and rested her head on Yang's back as Yang drove down the dirt road. Blake didn't pay any mind to all the little bumps on the road or the wind getting in her eyes; she was happy just to finally have her partner back.


	6. A Silver Lining

Ruby left the lodge early in the morning and headed to the village to look up the huntsmen boards posted in town to find any Grimm related missions. Qrow had told her it would be a waste of time, as it was likely due to Lionheart's actions that the boards would be wiped clean, meaning there wouldn't be any missions for Ruby to take. Sure enough when she arrived, the board had no missions posted. Ever determined to go out and hunt some Grimm before leaving Mistral, Ruby decided to head straight to the guild and ask them directly for a mission.

Every kingdom sans Atlas had a guild that would take in requests for hunter missions and determine their difficulty and pay. Guilds were important for professional huntsmen who wanted to avoid going on missions more dangerous than intended and receive guaranteed pay, although that didn't stop even the top professionals from accepting freelance missions from local villages outside of the kingdom who couldn't afford to pay the guild fees and didn't have much to offer outside of good will and hospitality.

When Ruby entered Mistral's Guildhall, she felt like she entered an abandoned building. A guildhall usually had several people walking around and working on sorting incoming missions, not to mention all the huntsmen that would come in to negotiate the contracts and get their pay, but inside this guildhall was dead silence. The only employee in was an older gentleman sitting behind the front counter reading the news on his scroll, not even looking up to see Ruby approach him.

"Um, excuse me?" said Ruby. "You do, um, work here, right?"

"Technically, yes," replied the gentleman, still looking down on his scroll. He made no attempt to hide the fact there wasn't anyone here to do any work. "Can I help you?"

"I noticed the boards in town didn't have any missions available. Are there really no jobs open?"

"Afraid so. Nothing we can do."

"There has to be something open! You're telling me nobody needs a huntress to take down Grimm or deal with some baddies?"

The gentleman sighed and pinched his nose. "Look, kid. Truth be told? All the missions we had turned out to be fraudulent, and that lead a lot of huntsmen to their deaths, which in turn made us look like idiots, which in turn made just about everyone quit to avoid scrutiny. So, until we get the facts straight about what happened, we can't post new listings. My hands are tied."

The gentleman pretty much repeated what Qrow had told Ruby verbatim when Ruby said she wanted to do some huntress missions, but Ruby refused to accept this. Unless Salem suddenly disappeared along with the Grimm, there was always going to be those monsters lurking around the world, and somebody needed to slay them. This guildhall employee had to know something happening somewhere. Ruby slammed her hand on the counter to catch the gentleman's attention.

"Please sir, you have to have info on something!" said Ruby. "I don't care about the reward money! If you know of any Grimm infestations, I want to know!"

The gentleman gave Ruby a stern look as he stared into her eyes. Seeing the man look at her made Ruby feel bad about slamming the counter and causing a scene, even though there wasn't anyone else in there anyway.

"Those eyes of yours...," muttered the gentleman.

"What about them?" asked Ruby.

"You've got the eyes of a true huntsman. That drive, that spirit...we can certainly use more people like you, young lady. I'd love to help, I really do, but like I said, we got fu...er, messed up hard from all the false missions, so there's nothing I can do."

The gentleman looked around to make sure it was only the two of them inside the guildhall, then motioned Ruby to move in closer so he can whisper in private.

"However...I heard there's been a large gathering of them about five miles south from the main gate. If the numbers get too big, they might find their way to the main city. But because this is only an unverified rumor, I can't 'officially' list it, and can't 'officially' have told you about it."

"Then I guess I'll just 'unofficially' go there and see for myself," whispered Ruby. "Thanks for 'nothing,' sir."

As soon as Ruby walked out the door, she turned on her scroll's map and headed to the location where the Grimm were certainly not gathering.

#

Ruby was sitting on top of a tree, using her scope to overlook the location where the Grimm were gathering in large numbers. It was another abandoned looking village much like the ones Team RNJR had come across in Mistral; dilapidated houses and rubble in the streets, infested with Grimm roaming the place seemingly in search of more prey. From the looks of it, it had to have been years since anything with a soul was living here. Ruby hoped the previous residents of this village were able to escape before the infestation became worse, but from the places she's been and the stories she heard from Ren and Nora, that was likely not the case.

 _"There's all sorts of Grimm here,"_ thought Ruby. _"This should be the perfect place to try out my eyes."_

When Ruby had mentioned her plans to everyone at the lodge, she claimed it was for training and spare money. What she didn't tell them was the kind of training she was actually seeking out: The use of her silver eyes. They suddenly triggered the day Beacon fell, and they triggered again during their fight to save Haven. Both times they rendered Cinder weak, and the first time froze the Grimm Dragon in place. With everything that happened after Beacon, Ruby had put her silver eyes incident in the back of her mind to focus on getting to Haven. Now with the journey to Haven ending and learning just how strong their enemies were and the powers Salem possessed, Ruby and her allies were going to need any advantage they could get, and her eyes could be their secret ace in the hole.

The only problem was Ruby had no exact idea how to use them when she wanted to.

 _"The first time I used them was the moment after I saw Cinder kill Pyrrha. The second time was when I thought Cinder would do the same to Jaune, and it reminded me of Pyrrha again. Could it be they activate anytime I think of Pyrrha's death, or do I have to be under great stress like last time? Well...only one way to find out."_

Ruby jumped from the tree and headed right into the village. As soon as she entered the town square, some nearby Beowolves sensed her presence and immediately homed in on her. Ruby swung her scythe and cut each of them in two with fluid unwasted motion.

 _"I could slay Beowolves in my sleep. If I want to feel like I'm in danger, I need tougher competition."_

More Beowolves came to attack Ruby, and they all perished in the same manner. A couple of small Griffins tried to dive down and take her out; Ruby jumped up, leaving nothing but a bushel of rose petals in her place. As the Griffins found themselves covered in roses, Ruby switched to her rail gun mode and killed the two birds with one powered up shot. Ruby got on the village rooftops and looked around, trying to find the toughest Grimm available. So far, she only saw the typical Grimm she came across all the time.

 _"Are these the only kind of Grimm out here? None of them really pose a serious kind of danger; at least not serious enough to bust out my special eyes. I guess I can still stay and wipe them out before-"_

Suddenly, a Boarbatusk crashed into the house Ruby was standing on the roof of; Ruby jumped off the house before the whole thing collapsed on the presumably dead Boarbatusk. Ruby looked where the Grimm came flying in from and saw a Beringel knocking out nearby Grimm, as if it didn't appreciate anyone or anything stepping into its territory.

 _"Now we're talking!"_

Ruby aimed her sniper at the Beringel and fired a bullet that bounced off the skull mask of the gorilla style Grimm, catching its attention.

"Yeah big guy, that was me! You want a piece of me?"

Beringel slammed its knuckles to the ground and let out a loud roar. Two more Beringels suddenly came running in, all setting their sights on Ruby. Ruby usually had some trouble dealing with only one of them; having to fight three of them at the same time was going to be insanely dangerous, and that was exactly what she was hoping for.

 _"Perfect! Now all I have to do is remember Pyrrha and-"_

Ruby barely had time to think as the Beringels immediately chased after Ruby. Ruby used her semblance and her Crescent Rose to fire herself into the air and get on top of the village's church tower, safely away from the Beringels' reach.

 _"All right, now I can concentrate! I have to remember Pyrrha, and Penny, and everyone that I'll lose if Cinder and the others get their way!"_

Ruby tried to think back of how she lost her friends while the Beringels kept yelling from below. While Ruby wasn't paying attention, two of the Beringels held their arms together as the third one jumped on top of them and got launched towards the tower Ruby was standing on, landing less than a foot underneath Ruby. Hearing the Beringel crash into the tower jolted Ruby out of her trance as she suddenly saw the Beringel attempt to grab her leg. Ruby fired her Crescent Rose at the beast and jumped down to the church's roof. The Beringel jumped off and landed on the roof as well; the heavy weight of the Grimm caused the roof to collapse, sending both into the building. While Ruby tried to get back up, the Beringel already recovered and shoulder tackled Ruby, sending her flying through the wall and back out into the street. Seeing Ruby sprawled out on the ground, the Beringel ran in and jumped up, ready to crush Ruby under their weight. Ruby extended the blade of her scythe to form a spear and jabbed towards the Beringel as he came landing, causing Crescent Rose to go right through their chest, killing them.

Ruby got back to her feet, feeling seriously sore pain in her ribs from crashing through the church. Before she can take any time to recuperate, the other Beringels quickly arrived to keep fighting.

 _"I'm really at a disadvantage now! Maybe...maybe this is how I activate my eyes!"_

Ruby tried squinting hard as she kept flashing back to her friends' untimely deaths, trying to get any kind of reaction from her eyes, but once again, nothing was happening. With the two Beringels charging in, Ruby decided she needed to run before she wound up like her fallen friends. Ruby tried to get back on the rooftops, only for the Beringels to jump up and continue chasing after her, taking out every house in the village. As Ruby continued running for her life, she wondered why her eyes weren't reacting the way they should have.

 _"What am I doing wrong? I keep remembering how my friends died and I'm in a perilous situation! C'mon you stupid eyes, just work! I need you to burst out and kill all the Grimm before I wind up getting killed!"_

While Ruby jumped from roof to roof, she noticed one of the houses looking like the roof was about to cave in at any second and had an idea. Ruby jumped to that house, then quickly fired her Crescent Rose before landing and jumped away in mid-air. The Beringel jumped after her and crashed through the roof, causing the entire house to cave in and collapse on the Beringel chasing her. Ruby figured that would give her a little more time to try and activate her eyes again, only for the Beringel to suddenly burst out of the home he crashed into, causing several pieces of the left behind furniture scattered out into the street.

 _"At this rate I'm never going to find the time to do it! This is hopeless!"_

As Ruby looked at the wreckage thrown out into the street, Ruby thought she saw something that appeared to look human.

 _"What the...was somebody still here?"_

Ruby ran up to where she thought she saw another human. The human-shaped object turned out to be a dirty little rag doll in a green dress, likely left behind by one of the children that lived in this village before the Grimm overtook it. Hearing the Beringel yell, Ruby quickly distanced from the wreckage. The Beringel also noticed the doll and picked it up, briefly confusing it for a real human. The Beringel grabbed the doll by the leg and her head and ripped it apart, sending the fluff flying out of the doll. The Beringel dropped the pieces of the doll to the ground, it's limbs broken off and scattered about.

Despite the doll being just a cheap toy, Ruby felt horrified seeing the Beringel rip it with ease.

 _"It just ripped that doll apart! Just like..."_

Seeing the doll lie there with its limbs torn apart was all too familiar a sight for Ruby. It was exactly how Penny appeared after the freak accident caused by Pyrrha's semblance, a sight only made somewhat tolerable by Penny being an android instead of a flesh and blood human. Ruby imagined if the doll were really a child and they had been ripped apart in the same manner. She could vividly imagine the screams of agony and horror, much like she heard during the fall of Beacon, where so many people had lost their lives to monster like the Grimm and Cinder.

Having all those memories flood her mind caused her arms to shake, her heart to race, her forehead to sweat, and the tears swell up in her eyes. Ruby had become overwhelmed with the feeling of anguish and sorrow that she felt the moment she witnessed Pyrrha murdered at the hands of Cinder.

"Aaah...aaaaaah...aaaaaAAAAAAAA **AAAAHHHH!** "

Ruby's eyes burned bright like the sun as two large streams of silver light burst out of her eyes, causing her vision to go completely white. Ruby screamed in horror for a few seconds before the lights dissipated, her vision slowly returning to normal and her head coming down with an intense migraine. Ruby tried to comprehend what just happened to her in that brief moment.

"Did I...just use my eyes?"

Remembering she was still in the middle of fighting a Grimm, Ruby looked to where the Beringel was, only this time it was a stone statue, much like the Dragon sitting on top of Beacon was. It could only have meant that Ruby finally succeeded in her training.

"I did it! I used my silver eyes! I...I..."

Ruby suddenly dropped to her knees, losing all the feelings in her legs. Ruby tried to pick up her Crescent Rose, but her scythe felt as if it was glued to the ground and Ruby couldn't lift it an inch. Ruby's vision was getting blurry as a slight ringing went off in her ears.

 _"My legs have suddenly gone numb! Crescent Rose feels like she weighs a ton! What's happening to me?"_

Ruby tried to keep herself awake and move her limbs to get some kind of feeling back in her, but her body was acting like it wanted to sleep. Just then, Ruby can hear the screeching roar of a Griffin nearby. Ruby lifted her head and noticed a new horde of Grimm approaching her.

 _"Oh no! No no no no! I'm being surrounded by Grimm and I can barely move!"_

Ruby knew panic and stress was a major cause of attracting Grimm, but she couldn't help but freak out internally from becoming a sitting duck for the Grimm.

 _"Oh my God, I'm going to die out here! Is this really how it all ends?"_

An Alpha Beowolf stepped out from amongst the crowd of Grimm and looked down on Ruby. Ruby could only watch helplessly in horror at the monster that would likely end her life. The Beowolf let out a loud roar as he charged forward and lunged his claws at Ruby.

Just as the Beowolf was going to slash Ruby to oblivion, a green barrier suddenly formed around her to protect her from harm. Ruby could barely make out the voice calling out to her.

"Miss Rose! Are you all right?"

Ruby couldn't respond as she felt her consciousness slipping away.

#

Ruby woke up back in her room in the lodge, stirring around in her bed as she felt a dull pain emanating throughout her entire body.

"Was that...just a dream?" said Ruby aloud.

"That was no dream, Miss Rose."

That voice. Ruby remembered it was the last thing she heard before she collapsed. She sat up and turned to see Oscar sitting by her bed; or rather, it was Ozpin who had taken control of Oscar's body for the time being.

"Good morning, Miss Rose," said Ozpin. "Or rather, good evening."

"Oh man," said Ruby, feeling a slight headache upon waking up. "How many hours was I out for?"

"Let's see...about twenty-eight?"

Ruby almost jolted out of bed hearing that number. That was definitely more hours than there was in a day.

"What?" said Ruby. "You mean I've been in like a coma for over a day?"

"From what Qrow has told me, this isn't the first time that's happened to you. You were also out for quite a long time shortly after you used those silver eyes of yours the day Beacon fell. I assume you were trying to do the same thing when we found you?"

"How did you find...my uncle followed me again, didn't he?"

"He had a feeling you'd go to the guildhall to get 'unofficial' information. Now, as for why you went in the first place..."

Ozpin pulled his chair up so he was now sitting right next to Ruby.

"You were trying to use your eyes again, weren't you?"

Ruby turned around to look away from Ozpin and gripped her covers tight, not wanting to cry in front of Ozpin.

"I wanted to perfect using them so we could easily defeat Salem and the Grimm," said Ruby. "Our mission would be so much easier if I can just use my eyes! We wouldn't have to worry about relics or Maidens or losing more friends..." Ruby buried her face in her pillow, feeling the tears coming out. "I should be the strongest person here, but I feel useless! What's the point in having this power if I can't use it?"

She was meant to be the team leader. She was the one everyone needed to look up to, yet what had she done to be considered a leader anymore? Everyone else have been stepping their game. Weiss had gained new summons, Blake stopped the White Fang, Yang learned to fight better and retrieved the Spring relic. Even Jaune had improved his weapons and gained control of his semblance. What improvements had Ruby made since Beacon? What was Ruby doing aside from putting everyone in danger?

"Your silver eyes are important," said Ozpin, "but you are not in any condition to be using them to their full potential. You simply haven't built up the proper amount of aura yet, and it also requires using that aura properly."

Ozpin stood up and place his hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"To be honest, Ruby, I was hoping in your later school years to personally teach you myself and have you ready to take down the Grimm with ease. Unfortunately, plans have changed, and we may never get the proper time to train you."

"Then train me now!" said Ruby, sitting up to face Ozpin. "We've got some time before going to Atlas! I'm sure I can learn something!"

"Ruby, this kind of training requires months, perhaps even years to fully comprehend. A day of training would not be sufficient enough to learn anything useful."

"A day of training is still better than nothing!"

"But what if you fall into another one of these comas when we need you? If our enemies ambush us while you're out cold, we'd be down one less huntress, possibly more because we would need someone to watch over you."

Ruby hated hearing Ozpin tell her it wasn't possible to train her to use her eyes, but he was right. What if she ended up in the same state she was in now? All it would do was hold back her friends and family from finding the relics and stopping Salem, and any time they wasted was going to hurt them. In fact, who knows what kind of setback Ruby wound up causing because of her being out cold for over a day. Ruby rested her back on the headboard of the bed, wanting to cry for being nothing but a liability to her team.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rose. I would have wanted nothing more than to teach you how to utilize those eyes of yours, but we've been dealt serious setbacks and we need to work with what we can right now. I want you to become our hero who saves the world as much as you do, but forcing you to train when you aren't ready would jeopardize not just your life, but everyone we're trying to save."

Ruby noticed Ozpin gripping his cane tight, visibly shaking as he closed his eyes and recalled all the times he thought he found the one, only to have it not work out for one reason or another, the common factor being he had a hand in all of them.

"And I'll be damned if I was the reason we lost another good huntsman under my watch."

Ruby assumed he was referring to Pyrrha, but then she remembered that Ozpin - or at least the name this current incarnation had - had lived for centuries, cursed by the Gods to live for eternity and live with the knowledge of all the countless huntsmen and huntresses who died under his watch. Pyrrha was just the latest in a long line of fallen heroes, and the last thing Ozpin wanted was to add Ruby to that horribly long list.

"Dinner's ready!" announced Kali from the kitchen.

"At long last," said Ozpin, suddenly having a gentle smile back on his face. "Oscar has been dying to eat since we woke up. If you're up to it Miss Rose, come join us for dinner. I've heard Mrs. Belladonna is quite the cook."

Ruby just wanted to lie in bed and never get up, but her empty stomach insisted she eat something. She put on some socks and headed to the dining room where everyone else was already eating, happy to see Ruby again.

"Hey there, sleepyhead!" said Yang. "You better sit quick before your food gets cold!"

"Right," muttered Ruby, taking her seat next to Yang.

"What's wrong, sis? Had a bad dream?"

"It's nothing."

"Upset your Grimm hunting escapade didn't pan out the way you hoped?" asked Weiss.

"That's one way of putting it."

"Well," said Yang, "is there anything we can do to help?"

Ruby looked up and noticed everyone turning their attention to her. Ruby felt ashamed having to be the center of attention because she was failing to step up, and now everyone thought they needed to help her. What exactly should she tell them? Should she come out and say how useless she felt and hear a bunch of empty words about what a "good leader" she was? Encouraging words weren't going to be enough this time around. It was best to just bottle it up and put on a fake smile.

"I'll be fine," said Ruby. "Besides, we have bigger issues to worry about. We'll be heading to Atlas very soon!"

"I've already made the travel arrangements," said Qrow. "Since our business seems to be done here, we'll be leaving tomorrow morning. Have everything ready by tonight."

"But how are we going to get past Atlas' borders?" asked Weiss. "General Ironwood has made it so nobody goes in or out of Atlas."

"We'll figure something out. Hell, you made it through, didn't you?"

"I doubt getting in will be just as easy."

"Perhaps I can convince the General to allow us passage?" asked Ghira. "I am a fellow headmaster now after all."

"I appreciate the help," said Qrow, "but Jimmy always insisted it was his way or the highway."

"It sounds like we've already hit a roadblock," said Blake. "Suppose we don't get past the border. What happens then?"

"I'm sure we'll make it!" said Yang. "We just have to think positively, right Ruby?"

"Huh?" said Ruby. She didn't expect to suddenly be put under the spotlight again, and now everyone seemed to be expecting an answer. "Um...yeah, think positively. I'm sure things will work out."

"That hardly sounded convincing!" said Sun. "Come on Ruby, where's that enthusiasm of yours?"

"Give her a break," replied Ilia. "Can't you see she's clearly not in the mood?"

"Ruby honey," said Kali, "are you sure you're okay?"

Despite feeling like such a failure, Ruby was amazed to see everyone turning to her and hoping to be reassured everything would be fine. She couldn't believe they genuinely cared what she had to say, as if her words had some kind of power over them. Ruby wasn't prepared to make a speech, but decided to stand up and try.

"All right, listen up!" said Ruby. "Tomorrow come heck or high water, we are breaking into Atlas and searching for the relic before Salem and her cronies get their hands on it! Getting there won't be easy, but when has anything ever been easy for us lately? Who knows what's waiting for us there? Maybe there's an army of robots waiting to take us down; maybe Cinder's henchmen are already there to ambush us. All of us have already survived some of the worst the world has thrown at us, and I know we'll handle whatever comes our way, because we're Team...um...Team Good Guys, and the Good Guys always win!"

"Yeah!" said Yang, wrapping one arm around Ruby's shoulders and pumping her other arm in the air. "There's the Ruby we all know and love!"

"That speech was loud, unkempt, and all over the place," said Weiss. "Wouldn't expect anything less."

"I think that was a mighty fine speech!" said Ghira. "Perhaps you can write my next one, Miss Rose!"

"I can see why she's your team leader," whispered Ilia to Blake.

"That's what Ruby does best," replied Blake.

 _"There's that spark again,"_ said Ozpin in Oscar's mind. _"Even when she feels down, she finds a way to uplift everyone's spirits."_

 _"How do you handle it, Ozpin?"_ asked Oscar.

 _"Handle what?"_

 _"You must have been in the same situation as Ruby over your many lifetimes. How did you handle the burden of leadership when you felt down?"_

 _"I reminded myself that for all my weaknesses, I still had a close circle of allies willing to take that burden on with me. Ruby may not be as strong as some of the others here, but she has a natural ability to have others follow her lead, and that to me is just as powerful as any magic or semblance."_

As everyone went back to eating, Ruby felt slightly better knowing she still had the support of her team, regardless of her lack of control over her silver eyes. Ruby hoped that whatever was going to happen in Atlas, she'd be able to lead her team to another victory.


	7. We're Off to Atlas

It had been quite an eventful week for the heroes who saved Haven. Everyone had accomplished - or at least tried to - what they needed to do in Mistral. With their business in Mistral settled, the heroes were getting ready to head to Atlas.

Team RWBY and Qrow already left the lodge to meet with the flight crew who agreed to get them to Atlas as close as possible. Jaune was still in his room, putting on his gear and double checking to make sure he had all his belongings, most importantly the omamori given him to by Pyrrha's father. He tied the omamori to his jeans and placed it in his pocket, then met with his teammates outside of his room.

"Is everyone ready to go?" asked Jaune.

"Whenever you are, team leader!" said Nora.

"Then let's not keep the others waiting. Time to head to Atlas, Team JNPR!"

Team JNPR were about to leave the lodge when they noticed Oscar in the living room waiting for them. They were surprised to see Oscar still there, assuming he had gone with the others to make their final arrangements.

"Hey Oscar," said Jaune. "Unless...are you Oscar or Ozpin?"

"I'm me," said Oscar, "but Ozpin did want to speak to you before we left."

Oscar closed his hazel eyes and briefly flashed his aura, before opening again to reveal their yellow color, indicating the soul now in control of the body was Ozpin.

"Hello, Mister Arc," said Ozpin. "Since the others aren't here, I thought now would be the best time to talk before we left."

Ren and Nora could feel a slight chill run down their spine. There was only one thing he could possibly be bringing up, and if it turned out anything like the last time the subject of Pyrrha was brought up, the day was going to start off horribly.

"Qrow told me how you really felt about him and I. I understand why you would feel that way towards me. What I did would be deemed unforgivable to many. Mister Arc, if there's something you want to discuss with me, feel free to let it out."

Ren grabbed Jaune's shoulder, assuming Jaune was going to tense up and lose it. Jaune patted Ren's hand to signal he would be fine and stepped towards Ozpin.

"Professor Ozpin," said Jaune, "the truth is I hated what you did to Pyrrha, and honestly, I'm not sure how long it will take me to get over it. If you were really here instead of stuck inside Oscar, I'd probably lash out at you the way I did to Qrow."

Jaune took out his omamori and gripped it tight. Having the charm in his hand made him feel as if Pyrrha was there, and imagined what she'd say if Jaune decided to yell at Ozpin for his actions.

"But doing that won't change anything. Right now, we need to focus on Atlas and dealing with the real enemy."

"Mister Arc, I appreciate you doing this for me. I truly am."

"I'm not doing this for you, Professor. I'm doing this for my team."

"...I completely understand. Well then, let's hurry to the others."

Ozpin relinquished control of Oscar's body as the four of them left the lodge together. On their way there, Oscar ran up to talk to Jaune.

"You didn't have to hold back on my account," said Oscar. "If you really had something to let out-"

"I'm all right," said Jaune. "Even if Ozpin was still here, I still don't think Pyrrha would have appreciated me talking to him like I did to Qrow."

"She must have been really important to you."

"Important? She's the reason I'm even half as good of a huntsman as I am."

"You're still a lot stronger than me. I just hope I don't pass out after another fight again."

Jaune smiled and placed a hand on Oscar's shoulder.

"Hey man, if I can go from a loser stuck in a tree to a half-competent fighter, I'm sure you'll be surpassing me in no time."

Oscar looked up and smiled back.

"Thanks, Jaune," replied Oscar.

#

Qrow and RWBY were at the airfield, waiting to board for their flight out of Mistral. Yang stood by Blake as Bumblebee was being placed in a cargo container and transferred to the ship's cargo bay. Yang never felt easy having to be separated from her bike on public transportation.

"Man, I hope Bumblebee can withstand the cold weather," said Yang. "I'd hate for it to break down in the middle of Atlas."

"Considering how small of a kingdom Atlas is," said Blake, "you'll probably won't be using it that often."

"But still, what if the freezing air temperature does something to it while in storage and I have to replace more parts? I don't think Atlas even uses motorcycles!"

"I'm sure your bike will be fine. You just need to show it a little love and keep its engine running."

Yang went silent for a moment, trying to comprehend what Blake had just said.

"Wait," said Yang. "Did you...just make some kind of double entendre?"

Blake pouted and punched Yang's left shoulder.

"Now you know how I feel every time you do it!" said Blake.

"Oh, so NOW you don't like it when I make those kinds of jokes?" Yang put on an evil smile as she snickered. "Then I'm going to make sure to do them as much as possible!"

"Then maybe I'll just have to run away again."

Hearing Blake make her threat of deserting the team yet again, Yang suddenly wrapped her arms around Blake's waist to prevent her from even trying.

"Then I'm going to buy a lock and make sure you don't go anywhere!" declared Yang.

As annoyed as Blake was over Yang's bad comedy, it felt good to finally be free of tension around her teammate. It reminded her of their days in Beacon, when even with the threat of the White Fang and Cinder's faction, they were still able to have somewhat care-free days.

Thinking about the White Fang suddenly reminded Blake that her parents and friends were supposed to arrive any minute and say their goodbyes. With her father having taken up the headmaster position at Haven Academy, Ghira and Kali were going to remain in Mistral for a long period of time, and Sun was going back to his original team. Blake quickly detached herself from Yang just before the three of them showed up.

"It's never easy saying this," said Ghira, "but at least I get to see you off this time."

"We're so proud of you, Blake," said Kali. "Please be careful out there."

"I will, mom," said Blake, giving her parents a big hug.

"Sorry I can't be there for you," said Sun. "You're gonna have to learn how to fight without me by your side."

Blake rolled her eyes at Sun pretending to be her knight in shining armor, but knew Sun was being semi-sarcastic about Blake's capabilities.

"Somehow, I think I'll manage," replied Blake. Blake expected Ilia to be with Blake's parents, but suddenly noticed Ilia wasn't standing by them. "Has anyone seen Ilia? I was hoping she would come with us."

"Blake!" said Ilia. "Over here!"

Blake turned around and saw Ilia, this time in a completely different outfit. Blake was so used to Ilia always wearing her battle outfit that she was taken aback by Ilia wearing a black jacket and checkered skirt, the signature uniform of Haven Academy.

"In case you haven't noticed," said Ilia, "I have an announcement for you."

"Isn't that Haven's school uniform?" asked Blake.

"It is. I'm enrolling in Haven and helping your fa...well, I guess I should say, Professor Belladonna."

Ilia held Blake's hands together and smiled.

"I'm going to find more allies like you said. I know it'll be frustrating at times...but I'm going to keep trying. We're going to rebuild the White Fang from the ground up and turn this kingdom around, and we'll do it the right way."

"I'm so happy for you, Ilia!" said Blake. "Good luck in Haven."

"You're going to love Haven, Ilia!" said Sun. "Stick with me and I'll tell you about the secret vending machine trick!"

"That reminds me," said Ghira. "Sun, why aren't you in a school uniform?"

"Huh? Well...you know...they don't design them with Faunus in mind, so they're...um...racially biased?"

Ghira knew Sun was completely full of it, as there were plenty of alternate uniforms to accommodate Faunus students. Instead of losing it like he usually would, Ghira decided to play along with Sun's lies.

"You should have said so in the first place!" said Ghira. "If that's the case, I'm sure Kali would be more than happy to adjust your uniform, right darling?"

"Of course!" said Kali.

"You don't need to do that!" said Sun. "I mean, I'd feel bad having to make you go out of your way just to fix my uniform. You know what I think would be a better idea? If we didn't-"

"Have them in the first place?" interrupted Ghira. "Absolutely not! Tomorrow morning, I expect you in uniform or else!"

"Oh c'mon, sir!" said Sun. "I'm not the kind of guy that wears something so dorky!"

"Then you can find another academy to enroll in!"

"You can't force me to wear a uniform! This is tyranny! Sick Serpent Tyrant! Sick Serpent Tyrant!"

"That's not even the right saying!" yelled Ghira. Kali quickly got in-between the men before Ghira decided he would clock Sun.

On the other side of the airfield, Ruby and Weiss were discussing potential plans for arriving at Atlas - or rather, Weiss was creating plans and Ruby was trying to pretend as if everything Weiss was saying wasn't going in one ear and out the other. Weiss noticed Blake's family arrived along with Ilia. Despite their radically different backgrounds, Weiss and Ilia had surprisingly gotten along better than expected when they went shopping with Kali, although there was that one moment in the night lingering in the back of their minds when things got a little too emotional between them. Wanting to get it out of the way immediately, Weiss went up to Ilia after she was done saying goodbye to Blake.

"Hello, Ilia," greeted Weiss.

"Oh!" said Ilia. "Um...hey Weiss..."

It was clear Ilia was also feeling somewhat embarrassed about that night, and she too wanted to get it off her chest.

"So...about that night," said Weiss. "No offense, but...I think we got a bit carried away that night."

"Yeah," said Ilia, scratching the back of her head. "I guess between the stress of saving Haven and dealing with that shop clerk and talking about our personal problems and all that drinking we did, we weren't in the right state of mind exactly."

"Agreed."

Weiss and Ilia stood there in a bit of awkward silence, not knowing where to go from there.

"But hey," said Weiss. "I still think we got along really well. We're still good friends, right?"

"Honestly, Weiss?" said Ilia. "Aside from maybe Blake...I think you might be my best friend."

"NO SHE ISN'T!" yelled Ruby, somehow having the ability to hear from long distances when her friendship status with Weiss was in jeopardy. Weiss was now feeling more mortified than ever by Ruby's outburst.

"Did I say something wrong?" asked Ilia.

"No," said Weiss. "Ruby's just being...well, being Ruby I guess."

As the ship was just about ready to begin boarding, Oscar and Team JNPR finally arrived. Seeing the Belladonnas present, Ozpin briefly switched places with Oscar to discuss Ghira's new position.

"I hope everything is going well for you, Professor Belladonna," said Ozpin.

"It still feels weird to be called that," said Ghira. "Aside from that, it seems all the students have been really supportive of my ideas."

"I can't thank you enough for taking on this role, Professor Belladonna. I know Haven Academy will be in good hands under your leadership."

"I appreciate you having faith in me, Professor Ozpin."

"But I should warn you; you're going to have a lot of paperwork on your hands."

"Leave it to me!" said Kali. "I'll make sure my husband focuses on the more important work."

"Good luck in Atlas, Professor Ozpin," said Ghira, shaking Ozpin/Oscar's hand.

With their journey in Mistral officially over and Ruby's teammates back together, Team RNJR was now disbanded. The four of them got together for one last team meeting to reflect on everything they've been through.

"Well team," said Ruby, "we weren't the ones to quite stop Cinder once and for all, but at least we saved Haven and obtained the relic. I can't thank you guys enough for coming with me."

"It was an honor serving with you," said Ren, giving her former captain a salute.

"As much as I enjoyed being part of Team RNJR," said Nora, "it's great to have the original teams back!"

"We've all come a long way this past year," said Jaune. "I finally learned how to use my semblance! I feel like I can actually contribute something to the team now!"

"At least you understand your powers," said Ruby, disappointed she didn't master controlling her silver eyes. "I'm supposed to have a power to destroy the Grimm, but I have no idea how to use it."

"I'm sure you'll learn sooner than you think, Ruby. I mean, it took me about a year to learn my semblance and people think I'm an idiot. A genius like you can surely learn faster than that."

"I hope so, Jaune. The last thing I want is to lose one of you because I couldn't..."

Ruby folded her arms, making herself upset from being reminded of the two friends she lost at Beacon. Jaune placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her silver eyes.

"That's not going to happen, Ruby," said Jaune. "Whatever name or formation we have, we're all one big team working together, and we're all going to help each other get through this."

Ruby wiped her eyes and smiled. "Thanks, Jaune."

With the ship prepped and ready to go, Qrow announced it was now time to board their flight out of Mistral.

"Listen up, huntsmen and huntresses!" said Qrow. "Now boarding for a nonstop flight to Atlas!"

"Be safe, everyone!" said Ghira. "Send us an update whenever you get a chance!"

"And if you happen to see that Adam jerk again," said Sun, "give him a kick to the face for me!"

"Thanks for all your help, Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna!" said Ruby. "Good luck running Haven Academy!"

Everyone got on board and waved one last goodbye to Blake's family as the boarding door closed. As the ship was taking off into the sky, everyone looked out their windows to get a final look at the Mistral Kingdom.

"Goodbye, Mistral!" said Ruby. "Now, onwards to Atlas!"

The view of the Mistral Kingdom soon faded away in the background as the heroes set off for the next chapter of their journey: The Atlas Kingdom.


End file.
